Trail of Blood
by linklover88
Summary: I'm not a monster. I am not a mindless beast. I am but an artist, leaving behind a trail of crimson to create my masterpiece. For the blood is my paint and the knife is my brush; whilst life itself is the canvas for my glory. Snowy innocence is the canvas on which the ruby paint is dropped upon. Shadow x Vio; Blue x Red AU
1. Life is Beautiful

**Warnings: Swearing, murder/gore/blood, illegal/criminal activities, assassination, explicit Man on Man action, dark themes.**

Disclaimer: I don't own the Legend of Zelda, any characters, or any lyrics. ;A;

Beta'd by: NaruSasuNaru xD

A/N: Because nothing says: Helloooo new crowd better than making Shadow a serial killer… ;D Aw well. Hope you enjoy reading, I certainly enjoyed writing~ Review please!

-Prologue; Third Person-  
  
It was a dark evening, twilight was abundant and bathed the land in shadows.

But shadows are dangerous, for death lurks in these blotches of darkness.

Hours tick by, spent waiting, hidden, as the shadows grow longer and taller until finally darkness cloaks _everything._ Time moves slowly, like solidifying slime oozes through a cheese grate. But the breathing shadow takes no notice. No, for him, time moves quickly and maddeningly silent as he awaits his victim.

And suddenly time slows and he is snapped back to reality. The door to his newest lair opens and a figure enters, sighing. The woman shuts the door behind her, dark hair and clothing drenched and dripping all over the thick carpet.

A small smirk crosses her predator's face as he licks his dry lips; hidden in the darkness. He's hidden himself ever so carefully. _She won't know until it's too late…_

She walks right by him, oblivious; as would a rabbit hopping past a starving fox or wolf. And as she walks past he straightens himself from his crouch and follows behind her, still unnoticed. He's so good at this, the skill level is _criminal._ He chuckles to himself on the inside at that thought, the pun too good to pass up.

His steps fall at the same time as hers; toes matching up to heels, bodies so close it was almost a shame to not press closer and give in to whatever urges they may have found. But no. He never does it, he swore he wouldn't. He's strictly business. Get in unseen, do the deed, and get the fuck out.

So he does. The knife slits her throat before she's even aware of someone behind her. Her body crumples to the ground like a deflated balloon as the life fades from her eyes.

She's out cold in seconds, the bubbling crimson red of blood oozing from her neck as death claims her.

But the shadows are already gone.

**-Chapter One – Life is Beautiful-  
Shadow's PoV**

~~~~~~  
I know some things that you don't  
I've done things that you won't  
There's nothing like a trail of blood  
To find your way back home  
I was waiting for my hearse  
What came next was so much worse  
**It took a funeral to make me feel alive  
Just open your eyes; Just open your eyes  
And see that life is beautiful  
- Life is Beautiful, Sixx AM  
~~~~~~~**

_It was a good kill,_ I reminded myself. _Very good._

It had been one of the few assassination contracts I bothered taking. When I killed, I killed because I wanted that person out of the way. But the victim was easy and the pay even better; so of course I took the job. Who wouldn't pass up the chance to earn some easy money in this day's economy?

I'd never been caught, and was rather confident I never would be. I never left anything to suggest I had even known the person. No one saw me slip in or slip out of a victim's house. I'm as good as my name, a true Shadow.

It did help to have someone on the inside, of course. _Vio,_ I think fondly, _I'm lucky to have someone so good so close._

The sky roared with thunder and the rain came down even harder, drowning my clothing and plastering them to my already dampened skin. I gritted my teeth and kept walking, impatiently hungering for the warmth and comfort of my condo a few more blocks away.

Vio was the perfect man for the job. We had, after all, known each other for… how long now? 15 years? _Something like that._ Friends since Junior High and we hadn't looked back. Now, I was 28 and I valued his friendship more than ever. He's a detective, and the best damned one in existence at that. He makes Sherlock look like a child in the "special" kindergartener class. He's not any ratty Private Investigator out for hire, no; he works with the Hyrule Police Department, and had friends in high places to boot. He's young, only 27, but he was the best at what he does: not a single thing escaped him and his cold, calm logic.

It still amazed me that he became a detective, of all things. That smart bastard could've gone on to do anything he wished- Hell, if Vio wanted to rule the world he easily could, and it still wouldn't have been enough for him. _Ambitious son of a bitch;_ I chuckled hoarsely. But he chose to be a detective because it "challenges" his intellect_. Like anything could challenge that bastard's intelligence_. He liked to figure out how it happened, find out what the motives were. It made him happy, or at least as happy as Vio got, so I supposed that was what counted.

Vio had a lot of authority despite his young age and none too commanding position. He well respected by his peers, and even his seniors. His voice was weighed heavily in both the police department and even the court; as well as the analytical departments and as far as the press.

Basically, he held the power to control the law authority of Castle Town on his fingertips.

"Finally," I groaned, opening the door in front of me. I was near the heart of downtown, which housed several scattered blocks of condos and apartments. It was nice, living in a condo. I didn't need much space since I lived by myself- well, sort of- and it was close to my job. My legal job, at least.

Vio lived a few blocks away, in a decent apartment. But he spent a majority of his time over at my place, since it was so much more luxurious. _Plus it has me, and that beats not having me, yeah?_

The stairs up to my condo seemed to drag on for eternities, and by the end of the seventh flight I was ready to smack myself for not having taken the elevator. But finally I pulled out my keys and unlocked my door, surprised to come home and find the lights on.

"Vio?"

I was answered with a grunt, coming from the sofa. I supposed it was some form of greeting, but it made me sigh. I shut the door and kicked my shoes off, walking into the small living area where I stopped in my tracks: Vio was lying on my sofa, a book in his hands. One of his legs was propped up, revealing a nice amount of his creamy thigh, since he was lounging around in his boxers.

I couldn't have come home to a more_… appealing_ sight…

Smirking to myself, I grabbed the blanket that was strewn over the armchair near the sofa and threw it on him. "Cover up, bookworm. You look like you're posing for a French artist or some shit."

I plopped down in the armchair and ended up with the blanket hitting me in the face as he retaliated. I uncovered myself and looked at the retaliator in time to hear him drawl: "You're rather late."

"I'm sorry dear, did I miss dinner?" I retorted cheekily. "Last I checked, I was allowed out as late as I wanted."

He ignored my first comment and looked at me with a questioning gaze. "I suppose work held you up?"

"I sent you a text."

"Like I would bother?"

I rolled my eyes, shrugging. It took all my strength to not consciously think about how we sounded like a couple when we… well, bickered. We weren't a couple, after all. We had never even breached the subject… Well, except when-

_Bad thoughts, Shadow. Bad thoughts. Stay in the clear._

Right.

I got up and padded into the kitchen, opening up the fridge in my lazy quest for food. Soda, beer, wine, mystery, mystery- no wait, that's…

I stuck my head out of the frigid container, looking at the back of the sofa where Vio had resumed reading. "Yo V, when's the last time you cleared out the fridge?"

"Dunno. It's your house, why would I do it?" I could hear him sit up.

Oh. "Yeah, but someone still needs to clear out the fridge."

He sounded exasperated as he repeated, "It's your place, Shadow. You're the one who's supposed to do it."

I made an immature gurgling sound and raked my fingers through my dyed purple hair, reluctance rolling off me in waves. I grabbed the mystery containers and lazily threw them in the trash, before starting to go through and throw away everything I deemed inedible. "That reminds me, why are you here anyway?"

"I left my key over here, but I forgot about it until I had already walked over to my apartment. By the time I got back here it was raining."

"You had my key on you but not yours?" A satisfied half smirk came over me. "That's very un Vio-like."

"It's also very un Shadow-like to not notice the blatantly obvious container of food that I got for him that is currently neglected on the counter. And no, I didn't have your key on me either. The lady next door lent me the backup."

Shutting the fridge, I took the container of food and grabbed a fork before sashaying back and falling back into the comfort of the armchair.

"Ah." I looked at the Styrofoam container in my hands and popped it open, before glaring accusingly at the blonde on my sofa. "You went out?"

"Duh." The one word "explanation" drew a long and overly dramatic sigh from me. "You're welcome." He added, shooting me a lazy look of minor annoyance before sitting up properly.

I grumbled out my thanks, shoving my mouth full of the room temperature food. I grabbed the remote control and start flipping through the T.V. channels, finally settling on the news.

"Change it."

"Whub?" I meant to ask what, but the question comes out garbled due to the food in my mouth.

"Shadow, your manners are appalling. And change it over to the history channel if you're going to bother watching T.V."

"What does it matter to you? You're reading, it's not like you're going to watch as well."

"Multi-tasking."

"How the hell do you read and watch the history channel at the same time, and still process both?"

There's a pause, broken by my loud laughter. The look Vio shot me made me want to piss myself with how hard I laughed. His face read _'I'm Vio, idiot. Do I need a better explanation?' _with so much contempt and disdain that I was surprised I didn't cry. We went through the same words every day, but that look made it worth it.

As though reading my mind, he spoke my thoughts out loud. "You ask me that every night, Shadow."

"Do I, hun?"

"Is your memory fading? I said you do, idiot. Would I lie?" He blows off the affectionate title like a bullet through soft butter.

"Words can hurt, sweetie." I chirp.

"Not as much as a knife." His eyes finally left the page for more than a second as they locked onto mine. "How was work?"

I smiled darkly, both of us on the same page. "_Flawless,_ as always." I purred. It was obvious we weren't talking about my job as a financial manager.

"I should hope so. It would hurt to be _fired_." Fired, as in killed.

"Not as much as it would hurt to _quit_." Quit, as in be caught.

He hummed quietly, thinking. "That depends. Even if you quit, you can always be hired elsewhere. But if you're fired… Well, it's a bit more on the permanent side, don't you think?"

_ Riddles, riddles, riddles. Can we skip to the part where you shut up and kiss me?  
_  
Except that part never comes. Never did. I was _friend zoned._ F-r-i-e-n-d z-o-n-e-d. Painfully having to keep my dark desires to myself because Goddesses know he would never agree to being with me. Because I was a guy? Nah. If that was the issue the scene would've been cut and we could've skipped to the steamy sex years ago. 15 years by his side and I was friend zoned because I was just that: a _friend._ Better than an enemy; but Din, being a friend to someone like Vio was like being a slave to the King of Hyrule. I. Was. Nothing. But being in a- dare I dream- relationship with him would be like finding that heaven was a free, endless buffet where all the workers were naked chicks and all the food was chocolate.

I love chocolate.

"Shadow, snap out of it."

"Hm?" My eyes refocused and I realized I had zoned out. "Oh, yeah. So as I was saying, I suppose you're right."

"You _suppose_ I'm right? Agreeing with me is a yes or no position, Shadow. You know that." He words were haughty and confident, but his tone was friendly and light. Years by his side turned his impenetrably calm and impersonal stature to the teasing, sarcastic personality that only I got to see.

All _mine._

"Fine, fine. You are correct, as always." I waved his words away and took another large bite of my food.

"Flattery gets you nowhere."

"Depends on what I'm flattering~"

He gave me a disapproving look. _High King Vio is not amused._

"Sorry."

"Yeah. Anyways, as I was going to ask, what held you up at work?"

I smiled twistedly, my eyes glowing pleasantly. My eyes were naturally blue, but I wore red contacts for the demonic look. Added to my dyed purple hair and natural good looks, and I was always appealing; at the minimum. "Overtime. You know they always pay well for me to stay after hours."

_ Riddles riddles riddles. Because 'the walls may have ears' and 'you never when they may be on our tail'. Vio, my dearest, you're paranoid. But I suppose you would just say 'Paranoia is better than being caught'._

"Anything specific?"

"Some extra work on top of my normal load." _An extra murder, but for the ass load I got paid, you would ecstatic about taking the job as well, bookworm. _"Remind me again why you didn't go into my field? It pays better than your current job."

Vio was the one who taught me everything there is to know about crime. He's a good guy, but when his morals slip he's the best criminal possible. He's the reason I know where to hide, how I know to sneak. But he never took it further than petty thievery; and that was only when he needed to.

He's so good it's criminal.

_Damn, I need to stop using that pun._

"Because it isn't challenging enough."

Because breaking in and killing someone in cold blood isn't enough for you. Then what about working alongside me? Watching my back and helping me do the deed? Next to me as we tackle the world, leaving only destruction and a trail of blood in our wake?

_I just want to drop this pretense that I've held up for so many years…_ But I couldn't afford to lose him. I'd rather lie and say he's just my friend and watch him grow old with someone else than lose everything by taking the risk.

He had turned his eyes back to the book in his hands, leaving my mouth to fall to a frown.

"Why does the book get all the attention? It's like I'm second best." I sounded like a whiny child, but hell, my closest friend was giving a bunch of yellow old pages more focus than me; I thought pouting was a fair reaction.

"Perhaps you are second best to the book." He replied calmly. But I could see on his face the amusement that my reaction brought him.

"Ouch. That was low."

"Would you like me to go lower?"

"Are you offering?"

Vio sighed, finally catching onto the other possible meaning. "Are you ever going to mature?"

"Nope."

"Just my luck," He grumbled, placing a bookmark between the yellowing pages. He stood up facing the opposite direction, giving me a glorious view of his clothed ass.

Damn boxers.

Damn them all.

_Ruining my thrice damned view of a once in a lifetime chance to see Vio's ever so amazing-_

"I'm going to bed." He walked off, interrupting my mental rant. "You should as well. We have work in the morning, in case you've forgotten."

I watched him disappear down the hall leading away from the joint living room and kitchen, off to where the bedrooms were. The miniscule second bedroom was originally a guest room, but Vio had long since claimed it as his. The walls in there were lined with bookcases and bookshelves, in his honor. They had been long since filled up and now his excess books were in tidy little piles wherever he could put them. In contrast, his apartment was nearly bone dry. Probably since he spent 87 percent of his time over here in my condo.

I sighed, missing his high and mighty know-it-all presence already. But he had a point. I looked over to the clock and made a gagging noise as I realized it was already 1:36 in the morning.

I all but vacuumed my food into my stomach before standing up and getting ready for bed. As I passed Vio's room on the way to my room, I heard the sound of a familiar tune and his voice, singing along, too quiet for me to catch the words; as well as the sound of a page being turned.

It wasn't until the lights were out in my own room and I was lying down that I remembered the words to the tune.

'Life is beautiful'.

_ How ironic._

** -Time Skip; Blue's PoV-**

The urge to growl and lash out was overbearing.

"Yea, I realize we got a new guy in my department! Just send him in already!"

Several more consolations and reviews on her part; many more growls and swears on my part. Finally, painfully finally, she left to go bring in the transfer. Being a Crime Lab Director had its perks, like _actually having a job,_ but sometimes…

_Why the hell did they give me this job only to hire someone else to babysit me? Someone so damned annoying, too._

I spun around in my rolling chair to stop the growing urge to bash my head into the wooden desk. It wasn't two seconds later that I heard the door to my secluded little office space open and felt an unfamiliar presence.

To be honest, I hadn't expected him to get in so quickly. My secretary liked to brief everyone who saw me, warning them that 'oh he's short tempered' 'oh he's stressed'. So damn infuriating! _Maybe if everyone would just shut the fuck up and do what the hell they were supposed to be fucking doing-_

"Uhm… I-I'm the new transfer..?"

Goddesses, the voice sounded so damn lost. I was torn between finding it annoying or finding it endearing. I spun around, only for my mind to stop when I looked upon the newbie.

_Well, that decides it: the lost tone is endearing._

It was like an angel had walked into my trap.

_Welcome to the deepest pits of the analytic department, also known as hell. We hope you enjoy your stay hun, because I know I will._

The growing blush on his sun kissed cheeks gave away the fact that I had been looking at him too long, and I broke my gaze with a rare smile. "Is that a question or a statement?" I teased, suddenly bubbling. Let's face it: Only one other person could make me feel this joyful in such a short amount of time, and she had been cut out of my life long ago. This guy was a real find. All I had to do was stake my claim.

His strawberry blonde hair was cut with a modern and attractive style, with a solitary streak of bright red thrown in. He had large, innocent blue eyes and a quiet, happy voice. He was a few inches shorter than I, adding to his slender and young figure. He radiated cuteness.

So cute it was almost sickening.

"Um… stating?" The guy looked like he was about to explode with nervousness.

"What's your name?" I leaned back, raising an eyebrow questioningly as I propped my ankles on my wooden desk. "You can sit." I added, gesturing to the chair opposite me.

He sat down, grinning with his pearly white teeth as though his nervousness had disappeared into thin air like a magic trick. "I'm Red Link! But everyone calls me Red." He giggled, thrusting his hand out. Mine moved out slower, more controlled to take his and give it a firm shake. Somehow I found myself memorizing the lines of his smooth soft hand, and pulled my hand back before I could find myself doing anything else.

I didn't want to end up fucking jobless because I was found molesting a damned employee.

_ Lust, such a beautifully corrupt thing._

"I'm Blue." I struggled to keep my face from resuming its natural scowl and settled for an indifferent quirk of my lips. I wasn't about to hide that I was attracted to him; I wasn't one to hide my feelings. But neither was I one to announce them on speaker. He was adorable and in my book, adorable was the equivalent to 'fuck me!' "So, welcome to the hellish analytical department I run. I have to ask you a few questions, policy bullshit. That 'kay?"

He nodded, sitting straight up. "Sure!"

_Too. Fucking. Much. HowTheHellAmISupposedToKeepM yHandsOff!?_

I removed my feet from the desk and sat back up, digging through a pile of papers to find the questionnaire that I had to fill out for all transfers. _Fucking hell, why do I even bother?_

"'Ight, first up: Why did you transfer here?"

"Because the previous place I worked was a dead end. And I always wanted to work in the city." He giggles again, a high little laugh. His voice is dreamy at the last part, like this is a dream come true. Ask anybody: working for the Hyrule PD is no picnic.

We go through the list of questions, him answering enthusiastically with grins and giggles. I've spent my fair amount of time with giggling chicks, and they've all got nothing on how bubbly his giggle is. By the end of it, I've got a tired frown and my hand is cramped from jotting down the answers. At the bottom is a part for only me to know of. There's two boxes, one labeled yes, the other: no.

'Does he/she seem like an employee that would work well in your department?'

The check I put over the 'yes' is the most confident checkmark ever in the history of fucking checkmarks.

"All that's left is to introduce yourself to everyone. Starting Monday you'll be working the prints, and after a few weeks if everything is seamless you'll be dusting at crime scenes." I stand up, gesturing to the door of my office.

He follows me out into the hall and into the crime lab a floor above. The conversation is rather one-sided, with him doing the talking. Suits me just fine, since my conversing is limited to swearing, grunts, and yelling.

We walk into the lab and stumble upon one of the rare calm moments. Normally it's chaos. I just had to be 'promoted' into working The Shadow Case; a serial killer who leaves no trace of his or her presence. All that's left is a corpse and a clean slit on their throat. How the hell are we supposed to analyze clues if there are none?!

Either way, everyone's working peacefully: throwing cracks back and forth and hooting with laughter, but working nonetheless. Mostly because they know if I catch them moseying around I'll yell their fucking empty heads off.

"New guy!" Someone yells, and the peace is interrupted as everyone drops whatever they were doing to see Red. Red, it's a nice name, made better by the fact that I can remember it with ease.

"Back the hell up!" I yell over their clamor. "Give us some damn space, by Farore!" There are only a baker's dozen people in my lab, but they can fill up the space like fifty. "We're not in a fucking zoo to see an alien or something, so stop acting like morons trying to catch a view of the new exhibit!"

None of them are put off by my language. Good, because if they did we'd have a real issue on our hands. Red looks at me weirdly but I brush it off; soon enough he'll figure out that this is standard. They do, however, back up and give us more space.

"Thank Nayru," I grumble. "Right! Now, this is Red, a transfer from Ordon. And I swear to Din if I hear you do any newbie pranks you'll all be on blast." They cringe as a whole at the thought, bringing a dominant satisfied smirk to my face.

Red is soon brought into the small swarm, looking flustered but excited. Soon enough, he's settled with everyone. While he's still surrounded and preoccupied one of the guys comes over to me, a knowing grin plastered on his face. "So, you gonna go after 'im?"

"Damn right. So keep your slimy hands off."

"Yessir," He salutes sarcastically before dropping into a more serious tone. "I honestly had no intention of going after him. I just thought I'd check so I could tell the others not to get too cuddly."

I grunt. "Yeah. Do that." I looked to the clock with a sigh, realizing I had to go back and finish the report I had been working on before the chaotic interruption that was my secretary had bothered me. Just fucking peachy. "And tell him that he can go whenever the hell he wants. He doesn't work today, no reason to stick around this dump."

"Yep. I got it."

I grunt again, turning tail and walking out with a yawn.

It's only back in the familiarity of my office that I allow myself to think of who he reminded me of. Her. Her. A familiar urge to strangle somebody came to mind. Instead, I dig through one of the desk drawers and pull out a half emptied pack of cigarettes. With the amount of yelling I did you'd think I'd take up smoking a regular occurrence, but honestly it's rare when I do.

Finally, I shove the box away and resume writing the conclusion on the latest case.


	2. City Life

**A/N: Oh, it's already been over a month since I updated? Wow, does time fly… /shot**

**Thank you for all the reviews, favorites, and follows! :3**

**This chapter is likely the dullest chapter in the entire story… v-v**

**(More) Warnings: Swearing (Did I include that already? ), alcohol, and some slight Vio x Green- but only for a tiny bit.**

_**This style means texting~!**_

**Beta'd by: xD NaruSasuNaru**

**Disclaimer: None of the characters or lyrics belongs to me…**

**-Chapter Two: City Life-**

**Vio's PoV  
~~~~~**

**The pressure's so thick**

**You forget how to breathe**

**You gotta get drunk just  
To blow off some steam  
So many lights but  
We're kept in the dark  
Yeah they can take it all  
But we still got heart…  
Just another day in the city life  
Just another day where we live or die**

**-City Life; Redlight King  
~~~~~**

"-Her throat was slit cleanly from behind, as all the others." Groose looked up at me from the recent report. "Same as all the other crime scenes, Vio. Sorry."

I nodded slowly, frowning in thought. "Don't apologize, Chief, it's not your fault. No one's fault but the criminal's..."

We were outside a small yet pleasant house on the outskirts of southwest Castle Town; an area famous for being a bad neighborhood and being plagued by crimes both petty and severe. We had gotten a call from the victim's hysterical boyfriend this morning, and I as well as what seemed like half the police force had been sent over to check things out. As it turned out, we were too late- way too late. The victim had apparently been dead for days.

"You wanna look inside?" The Chief of the Hyrule PD was this ridiculously styled man who I'd known for years. With his bright red pompadour and loud attitude, plus his tall frame, Groose was easy to pick out amongst a crowd.

"Yes, if that would be possible. There may be something that no one else caught…" I looked up towards the sky. _More like I want to get inside to avoid the rain. _The clouds were still heavily pregnant even though they'd been releasing themselves on the city for a solid week. And while they may've been dormant at the moment, they didn't look like they'd stay that way for much longer.

Groose handed me the report with a confirmative grunt.

"The whole place has been dusted for prints already, right?" I frowned again as a single drop of water fell on the bridge of my nose, and I wiped it off with a silent sigh.

"Yeah, yeah it was dusted earlier…" He wrinkled his nose. "Damn, smells like rotting corpse all the way out here." He gave me a sharp look. "Or am I imagining it?"

"The smell might still be in your head from earlier, so you're not imagining it. But I don't smell it myself." I raised an eyebrow at the house. "Know anything about this girl?"

He groaned at my first comments. "Not much. Name was Kina somethin'. She was a bartender in this pub downtown and also did a bit of dancing at a local club. No notable criminal record, a few speeding tickets, the usual shit and all. She wasn't related to anyone rich, important, or influential. As far as we know, she was the typical dead-end burnout. Not the usual type our criminal goes after, but it's undoubtedly the 'Shadow'. Same cut style, no evidence, body not found until days after. We've asked the neighbors, nothing."

"Brilliant." I mused sarcastically. "Alright, thank you Chief. I'll take my leave then." I turned away and walked up the paved path to the house while Groose went back to talking to an officer.

Inside was clean and modern, unlike the trashed yard that had been covered in litter and debris. A small, naturally lit kitchen expanded to the right of the door while the wall was at the left. A small table and two chairs were nicely set further against the wall, while a wall on the jutted out from the opposite side of the kitchen, hiding the living room from my eyes. I walked in slowly, watching for any evidence on the ground. Not that there would be any; Shadow was better than that.

Against the opposite side of the wall that separated the kitchen and living room was a small coffee table. The white chalk outline of the corpse was a few feet away from the table, in the middle of the room. Droplets of dried blood were spotted by where the woman's neck would've been.

I crouched down by the coffee table, on the far side from where a passerby would've walked. I would've been able to hide underneath the table, but I didn't bother. Shadow wouldn't have hidden under a table... It was too confining for his style; yet another view that we shared.

_He crouched here, hidden from the victim when she walked in…_

It took picture in my mind. Shadow leaving early from work, eventually parking a mile away by a bar or some other public place where no one would notice him. Breaking in and crouching here for hours, silent and still; until finally the woman came home. _It was raining that night_… No doubt she was heading to her bedroom to dry off and change clothes. She would've walked right past him. He snuck up behind her, slit her throat, and left.

_So why her?_

A bartender and a stripper… I closed my eyes, thinking. It was likely that someone of influence had indeed met her, for the simple pleasure of the body if nothing else. Maybe told her something or left something behind that could be used against him or her. Shadow had killed her because he had been indirectly hired to. That made sense.

I opened my eyes again, peering around to find that I was currently the only one in sight. Slowly, I slunk out of my hiding position, imagining where Shadow would've moved. Drawing an imaginary knife, I straightened up, making sure that my footsteps were silent. I came up behind where the victim would've been, slashed her throat-

"What are you doing?"

Caught off guard, I whipped around- calmly, of course. My movements were still relaxed and casual, even though I honestly hadn't known anyone else was there. "Ah, it's you, Tatl. I was just imagining how the killer would move, trying to accurately picture what happened."

She snorted. "Seemed pretty damn good at it, too. How do we know _you're _not the killer?"

"I don't seem to have much in the way of reasoning to kill a bartender/stripper. And secondly, that's a very serious accusation-"

"Oh shut up." She growled. "You solved every single case thrown at you until this one. What's stopping Mr. Perfect from solving this case too, huh?"

I cocked an eyebrow, unbothered by her words. "To be frank: What the hell is stuck up your ass today?"

There was an unspoken rule in the Hyrule PD and all offices associated with it: If you want to get somewhere with your career, you're going to have to swear your ass off. It never bothered me, I mean, I _did _spend most of my time with Shadow; and he was _far_ from having a vocabulary a grandmother would be proud of.

She seethed, glaring at me but not retorting. Tatl had never liked me, and as far as I cared, never would. She had this stuck-up attitude and was always somewhere near me, a bit like a stalker. She was jealous of me for solving so many cases and I knew it; it wasn't hard to tell. It didn't faze me in the least, I'd dealt with plenty of people who hated me and undoubtedly would deal with more.

I brushed my violet dress shirt and black pants off, as though I had done anything to dirty myself. I checked my watch with an indifferent look and walked past Tatl to leave. "I'm off to lunch. Let me know if anyone finds anything."

Her glare burned into my skin as I walked out; one last bit of heat on my back before I dashed out through the pouring rain.

**-Page Break-**

I leaned back in my chair, stifling a yawn. I pulled my phone out of my back pocket and tapped the power button.

_4:30? I'm calling it a day._

I grabbed my stuff, shutting off the computer on my desk and shoving my papers somewhere in an unorganized stack. I snatched up my coat and stood, nodding my goodbyes to people as I walked to leave the building.

Outside was gloomy and damp, but the rain had paused, for which I was grateful. At least I could walk to my car without drowning. I drove to a different part of town than earlier today, to the East side, a more casual and family-friendly part of Castle Town.

_Goddesses, what was I thinking, planning a date on a Friday evening? I'm exhausted. I don't want to deal with anyone right now._

But nonetheless I ended up outside a small green house with a well-manicured yard, tapping my fingers against the steering wheel and taking a moment to myself. Out of habit, I pulled my phone to me, scanning over my notifications before looking at my texts.

_Shadow:__So what's for dinner? Are we meeting up or am I cooking for us?_

I frowned, before my lips slowly spread into a grin and I shook my head. _He's hopeless._

_Vio:__Shadow, I have a date tonight, remember? You're on your own. _

I rested my head back against the cushioned leather of my car interior, sighing contently. My car was warm and I was tired. I wouldn't have minded taking a nap right then, forget the date. I wasn't hungry, much less in the mood to entertain.

_Shadow:__So what am I supposed to do, Mr. I Got A Boyfriend?_

I raised an eyebrow, slightly amused. _What's with everyone calling me 'Mister' today?_

_Vio:__ I don't know, and I don't care. Just don't burn your condo to bits and don't touch my books._

With a grunt I opened my car door, slamming it behind me as I dashed through the rain to the cover of the alcove of the house's door. I knocked on said door, vaguely wondering if my knuckles were always so tender; and if it was usual to occasionally experience a bit of pain when rapping on a wooden slab, or if it was just me.

I rubbed my left arm, looking around. Water was still tumbling out of the clouds from above, large drops exploding against the ground in a mesmerizing pattern. A lazy chill seeped into me, replacing the heat from my car.

Suddenly the door opened, recapturing my attention. "Oh, Goddesses! Sorry! Come in, come in!" I did as I was bid, slipping through the open archway as it closed behind me. "Oh, geez. I'm sorry Vio; I had to grab my robe first because I didn't know if it was you…" Blue eyes looked at me with a sincere apology.

I smiled reassuringly. "It's fine, Green-"

My words were cut off by a gentle and chaste kiss from my boyfriend of four months. It was- regretfully- dull and emotionless contact in my opinion. Regardless of our relationship, Green's touches were less and less fulfilling as time passed. As was usual when it came to my romantic life, I supposed.

As if sensing my trepidation, he pulled back, smiling gently. "You're soaking wet."

"Well, so are you." I pointed out.

"Yeah, but that's because I was taking a shower, silly!" He grinned. "Do you want a towel to dry off with? I still have to finish getting ready."

"A towel," I chuckled, "Sounds wonderfully delightful right now."

He rolled his eyes, laughing as though I had said something witty or amusing. "I'll go get you a towel. Make yourself at home, Vio."

I watched as the blonde figure that was my boyfriend walked away, bounding happily on his heels. He reappeared momentarily with a fluffy teal towel in his hands, which he threw at me. "Here! I'll be out in a few minutes and then we can go."

I nodded and rubbed the towel against my hair, mussing it up in as the droplets were absorbed out of my blonde locks. After I dried off, I looked around the house. A lot of the décor was green, but that wasn't surprising. Without much thought, I pulled my phone back out of my pocket.

_Shadow:_ _You obviously care so much about my wellbeing, it makes me feel so warm and cuddly inside._

_Vio:_ _You're welcome._

I did, of course, care a lot more about Shadow's wellbeing than he believed. I had spent over half my life with him, and so of course I worried about him. As a friend, as a brother… Not that I didn't want to think of him as something else-

The nearly violent vibrating in my hand tore my thoughts away from such tender subjects and I smiled at the text I had just received.

_Shadow:_ _With an attitude like that, how the hell so you get people to willingly climb into your bed?_

_Vio:_ _With the ever so charming attitude afore mentioned, of course._

I imagined his reaction, his snicker and playful sneer, simulated crimson eyes blazing with humor and pleasure. The chuckle in his voice as he aimed to tease me. It was scary, honestly, how well I could picture him; how well I could predict him. But it went both ways, and I was sure that Shadow had also gone through the same process of predicting me as well.

_Shadow:_ _Why of course, the uncaring and bitchy attitude is certainly what allures poor victims to your bed despite your sloppy libido._

_Vio:_ _…What would you know about my libido?_

'Sloppy libido'. I scoffed. My libido was anything but! I had a healthy sex drive, not a sloppy one- not that Shadow would know any of that. Sure, he could guess about my regularity, I never got off at his place so-

_I am not seriously thinking about this. No._

I frowned to myself, eyelids drooping slightly in self-annoyance.

_Shadow:_ _…Moving on…_

_Vio:_ _Agreed…_

"Who are you texting, Vio?"

I looked up from my phone, smiling softly at Green as he walked over to me. He was dressed in a fitting, mint green V-neck and black slacks, his hair clean and combed nicely out of his eyes. He grinned back, placing a hand on my arm. The immediate answer came to mind, 'no one'. But I didn't think telling the truth would hurt too much. "It was Shadow."

Instantly, his eyes darkened and his grin looked a bit more forced, his jaw tightening in distress. _Of course…_It wasn't hard to guess what was on his mind when I spoke Shadow's name. Many of my past relationships had turned sour due to jealousy over how much time I spent with the darker-haired male. And while I knew I should have comforted Green, I didn't think I had it in me at the time. Hate it as I might, his thoughts were a bit too close to what I secretly wished was real.

_What am I saying? I'm being horribly inconsiderate and wishful today… _Admittedly, it's not that I'm normally all too considerate of others, but it seemed as if today was a special occasion.

I wrapped my arm around his shoulders. "Hey, let's go. Don't want to be late for our reservation, do we?"

**-Red's PoV; Small Time Skip-**

The city lights were really pretty!

They were yellow and gold and glowed orange and red. And when it was dark out they shone so brightly that the black sky was more of a cross between an angry purple and stormy blue! It made it seem almost as if the city never slept, and maybe it didn't.

Back in Ordon, my hometown, there weren't many lights or huge buildings that stretched up to the clouds. When the sun went down you went inside because it was dark and scary out, and you could always see the stars against the dark skies.

You couldn't really see the stars here in Castle Town though, because the lights were too bright. But it was still really pretty! Like magic!

I giggled. The city was a magical place, full of wizards both good and bad. My chest swelled up at the thought, and I stood tall. I was a good wizard, helping to catch the bad ones!

"Hey, Red? Can you help me? I think I might've accidently pressed cancel in the middle of a scan…"

I turned around, grinning happily. One of my new co-workers was looking slightly embarrassed, lips quirked to the side, eyes averted. He had brown hair and blue eyes and a few freckles on his cheeks, and he was wearing khakis and a yellow t-shirt.

"Hi Pipit! Sure, I can help!"

I had been standing in the corridor outside of the lab I worked in, lab number Twenty-Seven. It was dark in there because the lights were dim and some were off, and the windows had dark drapes covering them. So I had come out here in the hall, because the far wall was made of glass and I could look out at the pretty city!

I followed him back inside the lab, and he showed me what he had been doing and I helped him fix his error. It was pretty easy to figure things out here, much easier than it had been at the crime lab in Ordon. There was so much technology here that you didn't have to do much, but out in my hometown you had to do more of it by hand. Then again, there also weren't as many crimes there.

Everyone I had met so far was really nice though! Pipit was a really funny guy, and his girlfriend Karane worked in the same lab as us. And then there was Cawlin and his friend Strich. Karane had said something about them being secretly gay for each other… Whatever that meant. There were other people here too, Fledge and Orielle and Parrow, and others. Everyone was kind and happy to help!

My new boss was different though. He was angry and yelled and sweared a lot… He seemed kinda mean. But he hadn't been mean to me…

Apparently he was always like that, or that's what I had been told by everyone. Pipit had joked about being glad that he hadn't been near Blue during puberty, and I kinda agreed. If he was so short-tempered _now…_Well, I guess it was a good thing now was now and not then.

I had been transferred to Castle Town to work on the 'Shadow' Case, but the entire lab was working on a different crime today. It was still my first week here, so I was just doing what I was told. I'd heard about 'The Shadow'… A mystery killer who hid in shadows and slit people's throats silently. It was scary! It was _really_ scary!

I whimpered quietly. I didn't want to die, and I didn't want anyone else to die either! Who would want to kill people, anyway?! It was mean! The killer was a bully!

That's why I wanted to help catch the bad guy, and stop him from killing people! I didn't want to carry a gun and be a policeman though. So that's why I had become a forensic scientist! My mom said it was because I had watched too many crime shows when I was younger, though.

The next hour passed quickly, I mostly watched Pipit do his work. Apparently we were allowed to leave any time after 5:00, but most people stayed later and went to a bar together. But I still had to finish unpacking my stuff in my new apartment…

I hugged Pipit and Karane goodbye, slipping out of the lab back into the lit hallway. It was really bright compared to the darkness of the lab, and hurt my eyes a bit. The elevator was starting to close and I hurried forward. A hand appeared from inside the elevator and pushed against the metal doors, stopping it from closing for me.

"Thank you!" I chirped, before faltering when I saw who it was.

"You getting in?"

"Y-yeah!" I smiled and stepped inside, and Blue let the doors close. I hadn't been alone with Blue since my first day here. I squirmed a little, waiting for the elevator to hurry. I was half expecting him to yell at me! "So uh… Do you always leave first? I f-figured, you know, since you're the lab director, that you'd be last..." It was a small attempt at conversation.

He looked at me, frowning. "I can leave whenever I want." He looked forward again, tilting his head back. "But yea, I normally leave last."

I tilted my head to the side curiously. "Why are you leaving early today then?"

He gave me a sharp look. "What's it matter to you-" He paused, sealing his lips before sighing. "I'm getting together with an old friend for dinner."

"Oh." I opened my mouth to ask more questions, but just then the door opened and he slid out.

"See ya."

I watched him leave with wide eyes, before stepping out too. He hadn't yelled at me… _Maybe he's not so bad?_

**A/N: Pardon the failure that is Red's Pov. I dunno what I'm doing ;A;**

**Review please! **


	3. Lips of an Angel

**A/N: WHOA HO HO HO WHAT AM I DOING WITH CAPSLOCK okay is this better? Okay. *clears throat* Thank you all for the reviews! They make me so happy C: I'm glad that my first time being Red didn't fail expectations... And uh, this chapter? Eheh *looks away* I don't know… It just happened… So uh… Enjoy… Heh…**

**Warnings… Again…: Erm, solo male play? I.e. jacking off and some fantasies of Vio…**

**Disclaimer: Everything belongs to their rightful owners. **

**Beta'd by: xD NaruSasuNaru**

**-Chapter Three: Lips of an Angel-**

**Vio's PoV**

**It's really good to hear your voice**

**Sayin' my name**

**It sounds so sweet**

**Comin' from the lips of an angel**

**Hearin' those words**

**It makes me weak**

**Lay down,**

**Never wanna say goodbye…**

**-Lips of an Angel; Hinder**

_Cliché; noun; a phrase, expression, or something that has been overused, is overly familiar, or is common place._

It was the only word I could think of to describe my evening.

_Example: My love life is horribly dull and cliché._

I sighed, fishing the keys out of my pocket and unlocking the door to my apartment. I opened the door slowly, leaning against the doorframe as I looked around. My apartment was parallel to barren wasteland. It was dry, uncharacteristic, boring, vacant, colorless, hollow, grey, so _empty._ "Home sweet home…" I mumbled.

Home. I scoffed to think that the infertile apartment before me could ever be subject to the title of 'home'. It was a roof over my head, nothing more. Home was a place where you felt loved, a place of warmth and comfort and kinship. Not a few empty rooms that you pay 799 rupees a month to possess solely to claim you have somewhere to go.

I stepped in, quietly shutting the door behind me. It was the living area/ kitchen that I opened my door to. Tan wooden floors, a white sofa, a small table and a few cheap chairs. The kitchen was the idol of unused rooms. A few filled bookshelves lined one of the white walls, but not nearly as many as my room in Shadow's condo had.

Vaguely, I thought of Shadow's condo; warm and comforting and full, compared to the emptiness and solitude of my apartment. _A home is a place where you feel loved. I feel loved there, right?_

I chuckled humorlessly to myself, the answer too obvious to even form into a sole thought. I rolled my eyes, lazily kicking my shoes off and sliding the coat off my shoulders. I let the black clothing fall to the floor by the door, not bothering to put it away nicely. A small emotionless sigh left my lips, more out of habit than exhaustion. I couldn't even think of facing the blank bedroom. So instead I grabbed a random book off the bookshelves and laid down on the sofa, replaying my date behind my eyelids.

"_Hey, Vio… I just wanted to say thank you. You know, for the date, but also for everything."_

"_Hm? Yeah, you're welcome Green."_

"_I… I had a good night, you know? I wish we could do this more often… Good night, Vio..."_

The look in his eyes… It was more than just a simple 'good night'.

I groaned loudly, my head lifting only to fall back on the arm of the sofa.

_Thanks for everything? Ha. He knows that I'm going to leave him. Brilliant._

I had, admittedly, been considering breaking up with Green for a while. But… I just… I wasn't ready, if that made sense. It's not like I really had ever had feelings for him. I wanted to, Gods, I wanted to; I wanted to harbor feelings for _anyone_ other than who I _did _have feelings for. Because my damned feelings were harbored for someone else, and no matter how hard I tried I couldn't kill the hopeless emotions for said person.

But I was just tired of always ending my relationships for the same reason- for the same person. Because of the damned dark hair and synthetic crimson eyes that I was uncontrollably attracted to. It was driving me _insane- _not literally, of course; I was perfectly sane and would always be. But it was if the world was against me. Both my body and heart yearned for the same thing, and yet my mind was like a roadblock, refusing to let the rest of me go in that direction.

As to why my mind wouldn't allow me to pursue him? Simply put, the romantic development area of my mind had been switched with that of a hormonal teenage girl's: Falling for the wrong person, followed by staying by them yet being convinced that I'd have no chance. Of course I didn't have a chance. We were like brothers, him and I. He wouldn't see me like that… And I didn't want to ruin what we had by bringing the thoughts out into the open.

_Speaking of thinking like a hormonal girl…_

I chuckled dryly to myself, opening my eyes to look up at the blank ceiling. Giving up on any hopes of organizing my mind, I twisted and turned on a lamp by the sofa. The warm light sent shadows sprawling across the floor while I opened up the book on my stomach.

Time was a rather unimportant factor when I read. Time could pass quickly or slowly, and I wouldn't know the difference. I was well aware of my surroundings, but I was mentally focused on absorbing the words on the pages before my eyes.

I didn't stop reading until I heard a vehement sound coming from my discarded jacket, which made me pause and look up. After a moment of thought, I decided that it had had to be my phone vibrating, the sound having escalated because of its contact against the hardwood floor.

I got up and dug my phone out of my jacket, rolling my eyes when I saw that the cause of the vibrating had been Shadow texting me again.

_Speak of the devil._

_Shadow:_ _So how was your date?_

I frowned, walking back and sitting back down on the sofa, although this time I was sitting upright.

_Vio:_ _It was fine… And your evening? You didn't burn anything did you?_

I sat my phone down beside me, opening the book again. I didn't read more than a paragraph before my phone went off again.

_Shadow:_ _No… I actually went out to dinner with an old friend._

I paused, ignoring the slight bit of jealousy that tugged on my mind. I was normally slow at replying via texting, letting minutes pass before responding. But it wasn't as if I hadn't read the aforementioned book dozens of times…

_Vio:_ _ Who?_

_An old friend..? _I couldn't think of many people that Shadow and I were still in contact with from years past. It had to be someone I knew as well, unless it was a coworker. Shadow and I had gone to the same Jr. High, High School, and the same University; so our friends were of course shared.

_Shadow:_ _Blue._

I frowned. _Blue..? _I… Hadn't talked to Blue in at least a year, even though the building he worked in was right next to mine- many of the PD departments were all clumped together. Blue had gone to the same High School as us, and to a smaller nearby college instead of the diverse University of Hylia that Shadow and I had attended. Blue and I had… Had a bit of a falling out, due to my elder brother Sheik.

Sheik, Shadow, and Blue had all been in the same year, and I skipped the last grade of Jr. High to join them- not that I wouldn't have skipped the grade anyway. Sheik and Blue had been close friends, really close. And Shadow and I had been the same way. Blue hadn't been as constantly angered when we were all younger, although he had been short-tempered; but now he was more like a time bomb that was just waiting to explode.

I narrowed my eyes in recollection of what had happened in the past few years to break the four of us apart. Shadow and I were still close, and Shadow and Blue were still in contact… But Sheik had been completely cut off from us, all of us, and Blue and I couldn't hold each other's gaze without feeling pain.

_Shadow:_ _I know you're not talking to him anymore, but I am. So I figured I'd meet up with him while you were preoccupied._

_Shadow:_ _Ya know, he's mostly over it now. I bet ya could talk to him again without getting yourself killed._

I reread the messages a few times, before shrugging.

_Vio: __It's been so long, I doubt he'd care if I showed my face near him or not. He's alright though?_

_Blue._ It was a wistful thought, both of my friend from adolescence and all the people who I had lost contact with over the years. That was normal though. Most Hylians gave up on their social life after college, focusing more on their love life and their career, and I was no exception. There were a few people here and there who I still met up with every now and then, but Shadow was really the one person who commanded my time.

_Shadow:_ _Yea, he's doing fine…. Enough 'bout my night though. When ya gonna propose to what's his face?_

_Vio:_ _His name is Green, Shadow. And I have no intentions on marrying him yet._

_I have no intentions on maintaining my relationship with him much longer either._

_Shadow:_ _His name is Green Shadow? Wow, his name is pretty close to mine. That must be weird when ya say his name in bed and ya think of me, huh?_

I paused as I reread the text, and then shook my head, unable to stop myself from grinning. Shadow was so immature at times, although I did know he was joking around. He knew Green's name, Shadow was just being an idiot, as usual. My phone went off again, louder than before.

_Incoming call?_

"Really, Shadow?"

There was laughing on the other side of the phone, and it was certainly the red-eyed male. "No, no- tell me, has that ever happened? You moan out 'Green Shadow' and ya think of me instead? Ha! Bet that ruins the mood!" His words were swallowed by his loud laughing.

I shook my head in mock exasperation, working hard to keep the smile out of my voice as I replied, "First of all, I don't _moan _anyone's name-"

"But that's what you cute little submissive ones do, right? Ya moan and scream?" He interrupted me with his semi-lewd words.

"Who said I was the submissive type?" I challenged. "That's rather conclusive. Are you trying to tell me you think I would ever let anyone _other_ than me be in control? I should go over there and slap you just for mentioning the thought."

"Oh, my apologies~" I knew he was grinning, and I rolled my eyes again. "So you prefer to inflict rather than be inflicted upon?"

"..You make me sound like a sadist."

"And you aren't? The quiet ones are normally the dark, twisted, sadistic ones right?" He gasped suddenly, as if suffering an epiphany. "_That's it isn't it!_ Your little boyfriend is a masochist, and you two use all sorts of like whips and chains and shit and- You film it don't you! That's your secret! _You're a porn star_!" He broke out laughing again, stopping only to cry out, "V, you dog!"

I sighed. "Shadow, you're delirious. Have you been drinking?"

It was quiet on both sides of the phone for a moment. "Well, I had some water and some cola… But I am one hundred percent sober, sir!"

"…You smart ass."

"…What if I _was _drunk? What would ya do? Would you come help me and nurse my hangover tomorrow or would you let me wallow in my misery?"

"I would tell you to call me when you're sober and hang up. You'd be on your own with the hangover..."

"Hey! I always nurse _your _hangovers!"

"I don't have hangovers worth nursing, Shadow."

"Well… If you _did_ have killer hangovers like the rest of us, I would nurse it for ya."

I didn't have horrible hangovers like must people. A headache, yes, but never a killer one worth moaning about… It helped that I had a high tolerance for alcohol, and that I didn't normally get myself drunk. Shadow however, had murderous hangovers that plagued him for a good portion of the day and kept him home.

"…You would just make my head hurt worse."

I could hear him scoff, and I smiled softly as he spoke. "Aw c'mon V!" He whined. "You know I would help-"

"You're pouting aren't you."

"-I would cook and talk to you and distract you from your pain and- I don't pout! Da hell you talkin' 'bout?!"

"Yes, you're pouting."

**-Page Break-**

"Shadow, you know it's one in the morning?"

"It is? Huh. So? Oh! Hey, I got this idea-"

"Shadow, shut up for a moment. Did you even hear what I said?"

"Yea, it's past your bedtime and shit. So as I was saying-"

'_Bedtime'. At least I'm not the one acting like a child, unable to keep my mouth shut in the wee hours of the night. _"Shadow, it's one in the morning. I'm going to bed now."

"Wha- No you're not!" It was quiet for a moment, and he whimpered softly. "…Pleeeease V? Don't go to bed yet? I'm not even fucking tired!"

"But I am. Go to sleep, Shadow. I'll talk to you tomorrow-"

"Just another hour! Please, Vio? I really don't want to sleep yet! Uh- If you stay up with me I'll take you to the bookstore tomorrow! Okay? Please?"

I hesitated. He was whining, but in all honesty I didn't really want to hang up yet either... And he made a tempting deal. "…You're such a child…" I sighed, holding the phone away from my ear as his loud complaints burst through the device. "Fine, I won't hang up yet-"

"Thank the Goddesses! So what was I saying? Huh I forgot. Oh well! Hey! I had a dream last night, and you were in it of course-"

The words slithered from his end of the phone like rain in April, a never ceasing torrent that streams towards me, only stopping to breathe. It's a wonder I can understand it at all- He's hyper, that much is obvious, and when he's hyper he's the entity of a chattering child. Without realizing it I've slipped back into my comfortable habit of not paying attention to the words, just listening to his voice, which is soothing even despite the slight distortion from the phone.

A small smile crept onto my face as I hummed and agreed and made all the right noises to make it seem like I was really listening.

'_I had a dream last night, and you were in it of course'._

Shadow made it sound as if he dreamt of me often. Funny, really, since he often plagued dreams of my own. What would he do if I said the same to him? '_I had a dream last night Shadow, and of course you were there…'_

I'm warmed by the sound of his voice. It's relaxing even though I can tell he's wired. Warm, and comfortable, and content…

.._.When did I even start to feel like this?_

The question takes a moment to answer. It had to be… Over a decade ago… The realization made me cringe. Ten years of feeling like a helpless idiot. Although I supposed I had only been consciously aware of my feelings a couple years ago, it was still humiliating to realize I had been this way for so long.

It might've been forever or it might've been a heartbeat, but when next I checked the time it was already almost three in the morning. Sleep seemed so far and yet so close as I informed Shadow that I had indulged him far too long.

"'Ey, Vio… one more thing." He sounded tired now, more his physical age rather than the bouncing child he usual acted like.

But it sounded so nice, my name coming from his lips. I savored the sound, the way he made such simple letters flow like honey. Not, of course, that I'd ever admit that. "Yeah? …What is it?"

"…I love ya, Vio."

I smiled; unable to stop the small show of emotion; glad that it was dark and that I was alone so no one would see the way those simple words affected me.

"…Goddesses, you seem like such a girl when you say that, you know?"

Glowing or not I couldn't help but tease him, one last time before I repeated the words in his favor.

"Wow, rude. I say I love you and you call me a girl-"

"Sorry, sorry… I love you too, Shadow… Good night."

"…'Night, V."

I held the phone away from my face and touched the screen, ending the call.

I knew he meant it in a friendly, brotherly way, but that didn't stop the little ball of knots in my stomach from warming up. Hearing him say he loved me… It made me feel warm, made me feel so _good _inside.

Part of me- the rash, illogical and emotional side that I had long since swept under the carpet- wanted to hear Shadow say it in a different way. Wanted him to breathe it to me, hold me close. He was the only the person I would ever, ever allow to get that close. The only one I would ever allow to dominate me, should he choose.

It was cliché, the way I was saving my more submitting side for him.

_There's that word again, 'cliché'._

But it was true. Shadow was the only one whom I would let control me, the only one I trusted enough.

Too bad Shadow would never want me like that.

**-Shadow's PoV-**

'_I love you too, Shadow.'_

Vio said like it was so _easy_. Why couldn't I say it like that? Why couldn't I say it the way Vio did, with confidence and a light, trusting tone?

'_Shadow…_' I close my eyes, unable to stop myself from imagining Vio saying it in a more breathless tone. '_I love you… Shadow…_'

Oh Goddesses… Vio would sound so fucking sexy in a breathless tone. He already had such an erotic voice…

My imagination was playing with me again, but hell if it was going to tease me like _this_ I wouldn't complain.

I imagined what Vio would look like, sitting on my waist, button-up shirt partially opened to reveal his creamy skin, whispering to me…

Vio was probably really kinky; the quiet ones were _always _the kinky ones.

Maybe he'd be the kind to tie me up and then put on a show and not let me touch myself as I watched. _Oh Gods…_ He'd probably be one of those dominantly submissive ones too, wouldn't let me have any power over him. Vio would want to control it _all_.

I imagined Vio bouncing up and down my dick… _Holy fuck that's hot._

Without realizing it I'd begun palming myself through my jeans, and I slowly unzipped my pants. Bookworm would definitely want to control us, would ride up and down my body. _Yeah, yeah Vio would do that. Vio would be that type._

I thought about Vio being the one to push my pants off, imagining his hands instead of mine.

My eyes closed, thinking about Vio rubbing his soft and delicious ass against me. I wanted to dig my nails into those ass mounds, massage them and make Vio _mewl_ in delight.

Oh Gods, just the thought made me want to cum.

I was lying on my bed shirtless. I managed to fish my half-hard cock out of my boxers before kicking off the rest of my pants. I twisted and rummaged through my bed-side drawer, grabbing a bottle of lube. I sprayed it on my hand and got down to it, rubbing my cock and feeling it grow harder in my hand.

I teased my long shaft with my fingers, rubbing the head and digging my nails into sensitive spots as I thought of Vio crawling on me, pawing at me, desperate.

Vio was so fucking sexy. I would make Vio beg for me, make him drop his pride. I thought about Vio's face flushed and the sound of him moaning. Vio would be my bitch.

_My _bitch.

Vio could slowly slide down onto my dick, moan wantonly like a pornstar as he did.

My hand moved faster. He could ride up and down, ass clenching my dick. His shirt would be completely open, so I could pinch his dusky, perky nipples.

Vio would tilt his head back and moan, unable to move for all the pleasure of having me deep inside. _Yeah, yeah. And I could flip him over and fuck him like-_

I let out a choked moan, tensing for a moment before calming down, pumping even harder. My thumb rubbed over the slit, wiping away the precum before my hand moved back down.

Vio would moan even louder, face bright red, pushing back into me to get more, aching to have me in him, deeper, harder, faster.

Vio would call my name as he came, no, _scream_-

I groaned loudly, pushing my hips up into my hand as my cock twitched in my hand, squirting my seed out in spurts.

My whole body tensed, my toes curled, I could feel my pulse all over my body.

I calmed down with another groan, closing my eyes and whispering Vio's name in a low tone.

My body throbbed with a post-orgasm tingle, so sensitive that I wanted to reject the feeling of fabric against my skin.

After a few minutes I sighed and wiped off the cum with a tissue, letting my head fall back onto the pillows.

_Damn._ I just got off thinking about my best friend- what the hell is wrong with me?

'_I love you, Shadow…'_ _Fuck you, Vio. You drive me fucking insane and I'm helpless to your stupid tactics. And you, you don't even realize it…_

**Review please! :D **

**And can someone tell me if 'pornstar' is one word or two? :0 *doesn't know***


	4. Under My Skin

**A/N: THE CHAPTER GREW A MIND OF ITS OWN. T-T So 'tis seems filler chapter, sorry. FOR THE RECORD, I really do love Sheik as a character, but I have a habit of making him… 'Disliked' in the eyes of the characters. ((Not much of a habit since this is only my second story *shot*)) Anyway, Sheik and Blue's story will unfurl soon, possibly next chapter. Thanks for the reviews/ favorites/ follows guys! You rock! :D**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Beta'd by: xD NaruSasuNaru**

***Because science doesn't apply when I don't want it to XD**

**-Chapter 4: Under My Skin-  
Shadow's PoV**

**When I feel you close to me**  
**It's easy to believe**  
**To the depths and back again**  
**To find that I'm still needed**  
**I feel the fear dissipate**  
**When you are everything you are**  
**Feel my soul come awake**  
**You carry me away**  
**-Under My Skin; Skillet**

"For the love of Nayru you took forever. I said I'd be here at nine, yea? What held you up, busy with putting on your make up, Princess?"

"Shut up and drive, idiot. I'm only ten minutes late anyway."

I chortled as Vio climbed into the passenger side seat beside me. He was decked out in a pair of slim black jeans and a tight, long-sleeved violet V-neck, a silver necklace with a Triforce charm dangling around his neck. His blonde hair framed his face, his bangs covering part of one of his eyes.

I, on the other hand, wore loose, faded, ripped blue jeans and a black T-shirt with a band logo on it; a leather jacket with various chains attached onto it over that. I had large red studs in my ears, crimson contacts in, my purple hair in a style similar to Vio's.

From where I sat I could smell the faint scent of his light cologne and his shampoo mingled together, a calming scent that I loved.

_I can't believe I can act so normal around him when last night I jacked off to his magnificent ass._

Without much thought I mused aloud, "You smell good."

_Well, maybe not so 'normal'._

He looked at me with disdain flickering on his beautiful face. "Shadow, _please_, can we skip the flirtatious antics? Save it for your girlfriend."

"What girlfriend?" I grinned.

"You broke up with the latest one? When? Why?" He looked a bit more interested now, raising one of his eyebrows inquisitively.

"A week ago, she wasn't exactly the relationship type." _Because I accidently said your name during sex- she broke up with me, not the other way around. _I sighed and leaned back in my chair. "…Ya ever think I'll meet the right person?"

"Hm. I'm skeptical, it's a miracle that_ I_ can put up with you, and I'm not even your wife." I faked injury, trying to ignore the jolt of happiness at the thought of Vio as my wife: a long white gown, silver rings, beaming guests- "I'm kidding." His tone softened. "Of course you will, Shadow. You'll find someone perfect for you; you'll fall in love and have your contented ending."

…_I already have found someone perfect for me._

I smiled. "Thanks V." I sat up straight and tore my eyes from him as I pulled out into the street. We had been parked outside his apartment complex, since I had agreed to take him to the bookstore in exchange for him staying up with me last night. He got his book; I got my time with him. It was a win-win situation for both of us. "Ya think we'll be able to find a book you haven't already read?"

"Of course we will. It's not as if I've read every book in existence. I _do_ have other things in my life than just reading to attend to."

"Yea, but we all know that if you had the choice your life would revolve solely around reading." I grinned at him and he shrugged.

"I won't deny it."

_Din damn, he's so cute…_

The rest of the ride passed in comfortable silence, with Vio looking out his window. I managed to find a spot in a parking garage: I fucking hated those damned garages, hard as hell to find a spot and then you have to pay an ass-load of money- what a fucking rip-off!

My blonde companion laughed quietly as I grumbled and swore under my breath. We walked to a small bookstore down the street, Vio's favorite. A bell tinkled quietly as we entered, disrupting the silence of the empty shop. Of course it was empty- who the hell got up at nine on a Saturday just to shop for books?!

_Oh, that's right, Vio does._

A small old lady was behind the counter, and she looked up and grinned at us as we walked in. "Good morning, dears." She cooed, "So nice to see young people out and about."

Vio smiled gently at her. "That it is. Good morning to you, as well."

The shop owner knew Vio by name and me by appearance. She was nice enough, but I didn't want to wait while my blonde- _My _blonde- and she discussed the latest historical documentaries- which sadly enough had happened before. I smiled at the woman, leading Vio towards the back of the store by his elbow. I could tell he was rolling his eyes, but honestly, I didn't care.

I released him once we reached the history section. History had always been one of his favorite subjects, as well as math and science and- well, he liked everything educational, I supposed.

I watched him stroll through the shelves in pursuit of a book. Not only did we have to search for a book that he hadn't yet read, but as well as one that wasn't on a subject he knew everything about; which made book-hunting a lengthy and tedious process.

After a few minutes of scanning volumes of books long forgotten I looked up. "What about that one? Way up there?" I pointed towards the top of the book shelf. The book shelves in this store were way too tall, they stood about nine or ten feet high and were crammed with books. But despite the distance I could for some reason just _tell _it was perfect.

Vio followed my gaze and chuckled, his thoughts along the lines of mine. "Great. I don't believe I've read a book like that before…"

"Want me to go ask for a ladder or some assistance?" I sucked my bottom lip. "'Cause I don't think you'll be able to reach that." Of course he wouldn't. The book was the second shelf from the top, at least eight feet up where Vio was only five foot nine. I sadly wasn't eight feet tall either, only five foot ten. _Taller than bookworm though!_

"Shadow, I'm not going to ask an old woman to help me grab something. That's cruel." He took a step back, his mouth in a small frown as usual. "Give me a boost."

I paused, looking at him incredulously. "…What?"

"Give me a boost." He repeated. "I can grab it if you help." He gave me a challenging look. "Or are you too weak to lift me?"

I smirked, spurred on by his playful attitude. "And I thought_ I_ was the one who came up with ideas that were against the rules?" Let's face it, lifting someone up in a bookstore wasn't exactly public behavior; and Vio was normally the type to stick with guidelines. Not that I _minded_ breaking those rules…

"What can I say? Your attitude has been rubbing off on me." He shrugged. _Not the only thing of mine that's been rubbed off because of you…_ "Or what, you won't do it?"

"Heh. Fine, I'll boost your short book-loving ass."

"Short?" He grumbled. "I'm only an inch shorter, so shut up." He moved me to where he wanted, and then backed up. "…Ready?"

I bent my knees, back straight, and linked my fingers together to create a bridge. "Ready." I nodded.

He took a deep breath, then dashed forward, jumping onto my hands just as I straightened my body, consequently lifting him up. I grunted as I kept my locked hands at mid-chest, holding Vio four, five feet higher than his natural height.

Thank Din the ceilings were high in this store.

I could hear the sound of books and paper ruffling above me, but Vio didn't seem to be in much of a rush. "Ugh… Hurry up, bookworm, you're fucking heavy." I grunted.

"I have a scientifically perfect body weight, thank you." I heard him retort from above me. "…Alright, I got it."

…_Shit._ Now how to get him down? I wasn't lying; while he was indeed perfectly shaped and sensually curved, he was heavy on my hands. I started to bend my knees when I suddenly lost my balance- how the hell did_that_ happen?- and fell backwards.

Blinded momentarily from the pain of landing on the wooden floor I heard a yelp and Vio landed on me. I cried out again and groaned; waiting a moment before I opened my pain-blurred eyes to find Vio pushing himself up from my chest.*

He was straddling me, his hands on either side of upper torso. "Fuck… Are you okay?" His eyes, normally narrowed in scrutiny, were wide and alarmed as he spoke.

"Yeah…" I breathed out. Other than the flashes of pain in the back of my skull and the stinging sensation all along my back I wasn't in nearly as much pain as one would suppose; even after Vio crashing on top of me. "I'm fine… Are _you_ okay? You didn't break anything did you?"

I was worried for him- I wasn't exactly the most comfortable thing to land on; although I was better than a stone floor. I was also sturdier than he was, I could take more physical damage. At the same time, I was also trying to ignore our position, which was getting harder to disregard with every passing second. I was amazed my body hadn't sprung into sexual mode the moment he landed on me, and better yet, he didn't seem bothered by our compromising position.

"I'm fine... I _would _be better if you hadn't decided to fall though." He glared.

I grinned weakly. "I second that."

Just then the owner of the shop huddled over into view. "I heard a thud! …But you two seem alright…" She blushed a bit as she looked us over, grinning. "…Excuse my interruption, boys." She winked and hobbled off.

Vio slowly looked back down at me. "Did… she just _wink_ at us?" _He's so adorable when he's confused~_

"Yup." I kept an even gaze, smirking. "I wonder why she would do that. Not like we're in some weird position or anything…"

His eyes widened again before narrowing in a glare. "Oh, shut up." He sat up on me, folding his arms across his chest. "This never would have happened if you had had any sense of balance."

"Hm." I propped myself up on my elbows. "Ya know, true as that may be, we're still in a rather… huh, how do I put this? We're still in a compromising position here, Vio."

His cheeks betrayed his collected attitude by flushing a light pink. "You don't seem to be too bothered by it though."

I smirked, sitting up, nearly pressing our torsos together, close enough to kiss. "Of course not, I-" I winced suddenly, one of my hands flying to the back of my head. "Ow…"

Vio's cross look changed to one of concern and he frowned worriedly. "Are you sure you're okay, Shadow?" He unfolded his arms. "What happened?"

"Mn… My head hurts like hell from crashing into the floor." I moaned in pain. "I'm fine… Fuck…" It throbbed again and I clenched my teeth, speaking through them. "I'm okay." I tried not to think too much about how he said my name. He made it sound… _sensual_… as the letters came from his lips teeth and tongue... _For the love of the Three this is not the time to notice that._

He climbed off me, kneeling next to me instead. "You did hit the ground pretty hard… You might have a concussion-"

"I'm fine, Vio." I tipped my head back, willing the pain away as I waved him off. "Don't worry 'bout me bookworm."

"I have to worry about you, since you won't take care of yourself. Shadow, you hit the ground hard, and then I landed on you. I don't want you to end up in the hospital or something."

"Aw, you care about me? That's cute, V."

"You're my ride home and my ticket to lunch." He huffed. "More like I'm worried about my chauffer."

"Ouch. That hurt more than the fall."

-Page Break-

As it was, I ended up with nothing but minor pains and a headache, all of which were dispelled with a few pills. I bought Vio the book, despite his protests of being able to pay for himself- which led to a discussion of 'manly men' and rainbows.

_Because fuck logic._

We were in a booth in a small restaurant a block down from the book shop. The brick walls, dimmed lighting, mahogany booths, slightly tinted windows- it made for an intimate atmosphere, one which I wished I could enjoy fully, like many of the other customers here.

I remembered walking past said couples on the way to the booth, their soft smiles and quiet laughter, faces illuminated sweetly in the spring afternoon sunlight. _I want to be like that… Hands held under the table, loving glances, stolen kisses when we think no one is looking. Why can't we be like that, Vio and I? Why can't we just…_

I looked across the table to Vio, who was focused on the book, which he had laying open on the table. I took in the way his pink lips were relaxed and softly turned down in his thoughtful frown, the way his long eyelashes swept his cheeks when he blinked. His soft hair shadowing part of his skin, a bit of it covering one of his eyes completely now that he was looking downwards. I reached forward thoughtlessly, tucking the strand behind his ear.

He didn't flinch or glare at me as I did so, didn't move at all to indicate that he noticed what I had done. He just let me do it, leaving me with nothing but the tell-tale sign of his ears tinting a faint rose.

I looked away, frowning to myself. He never complained when I touched him, not like he had when we were younger. He didn't like too much physical contact, but he tolerated me. That was good but… He never touched back. Didn't lean into my hand when I brushed his hair away, didn't press a kiss to my cheek. Didn't take my titles of affection seriously.

It _was_ my fault, I supposed. For being such a flirt back in high school, and partially college. Going around and calling all the babes pet names, running my hand down their backs and acting like I had it all. I could tell that he thought I was the same as ever, that I didn't think of him that way.

I leaned back against the leather booth, closing my eyes. Vio was just… something about him… The way he smiled and laughed when it was just the two of us, the look he'd get when I did something that pleased him immensely. His powerful attitude and his calm demeanor. All of him was so… Alluring, mysterious, calming… Like a warm storm that made you want to bask in the glory of nature, I wanted to inhale his splendor.

That was, after all, the reason I had flocked to him in the first place all those years ago when we were just adolescents. He was a puzzle, a challenge, something I wanted to unlock and solve. And once I had… Well, there was always more to him, a game with infinite levels that beckons to continue.

And when I was around him… it just… Everything, it all felt better. Like I'd always have a place I'd belong, a place to go to. That I'd have someone to talk to. Someone to love and someone to be loved by. For a moment, if only a moment, stress was lifted from my shoulders when I was near him. As long as it was him… I could do anything.

_'In sickness and in health  
__In life and in death  
__I hereby vow to love and care for you  
__As long as we both are bound'_

_I've always loved those wedding vows …I'm thinking like a lovesick fuck again ain't I?_

"Are you sure you're alright, Shadow?"

My eyes opened slowly and I smiled. Vio had stopped reading momentarily, looking at me calculatingly.

"..Yeah. I'm fine… Don't worry about me."

He opened his mouth to say something and shut it again as our waitress came over, smiling and fluttering her mascara-clumped eyelashes. "Can I get you or your boyfriend some wine or something other than water?" She asked me.

_My boyfriend. Everyone can see my interest in him except Vio himself, huh?_

"No, thank you." He spoke up.

We ordered, and she walked away to leave the two of us alone once more.

"Why does everyone think we're a couple?" He sighed.

"Because we do couple-y things and bicker like a married couple." I snickered. "Besides, I didn't see you correcting her."

"Neither did you."

"That's because I don't care if they think we're together. We know the truth, so what's it matter?"

I added the last part as a reminder to myself. I didn't even notice the bitter look that flashed in his eyes when I said that.

"Of course." He said quietly, obviously preferring the book's company over mine considering that he resumed reading.

"C'moooooon," I whined, "Ya can't just read all day, V! _Do _something with your life other than turn pages, would ya?"

"Such as?"

"Talk to me. Entertain me. I'm booooored." I rested my forehead against the table, before turning my head on the side to look at Vio with one eye, my opposite cheek squished against the stained wooden slab.

"You're such a drama queen." He closed his eyes and let out a slow deep breath. "What is there to talk about?"

"What are your plans for this weekend?"

He looked slightly caught off-guard by the question. Thinking on it, I couldn't even remember the last time I asked him what his agenda was in advance. Normally I just planned things for us and dragged him with me with last-minute notice.

"Mm, I have a meeting with the group tonight… Other than that I have nothing planned, why?"

_The 'group'; oh Goddesses. I still can't believe there's actually an organization to this field of work._

The 'group' being a circle from the Criminals Guild, of which Vio had become part of years ago when he was still into thievery. He was, in their eyes, 'retired' from services and no longer obligated to attend guild meetings on a regular basis. I on the other hand was an active member and either had to attend myself or send a representative- which is what my lovely violet-clothed blonde was.

Of course, Vio did still do the Guild favors in exchange for quick cash every now and then- mostly getting rid of rogue criminals that were getting in the way of Guild operations. His cover of a detective was especially useful when things like that arose.

It was also how I came across my assassination contracts. Vio would choose which ones I did, generally, or set up a meeting with a potential Guild customer for me. I got paid for it, although the Guild did keep some money for itself. It was an arrangement that suited me fine.

I didn't know how or why Vio had joined the group in the first place, and I had never asked. It simply was and I let it go at that.

I grinned slyly. "So you won't mind if I kidnap you for the weekend?"

He chuckled softly. "It's not kidnapping if you ask me first, Shadow…"

"I only ask 'cause I know you like it when I do. You don' really have choice V."

His laughed so quietly that it was nearly inaudible. "I never do have a choice, do I? But no, I won't mind." His eyes were closed, the smile on his face relaxed and open compared to the small turn of his lips that was used upon everyone else.

I smiled when he opened his blazing blue eyes, which glimmered at me, amused. Across the table I could barely make out the violet flakes in the azure orbs that made his eyes seemed tinted. From the short distance the colors seemed beautifully blended together.

I opened my mouth to say something when suddenly the waitress came back, balancing our plates. As she walked away she motioned to me about Vio and winked, the detective not completely oblivious but not questioning.

_Everyone except him knows… And I don't even know if that's a good thing or not._

"Lunch is my treat, blondie."

"Shadow, I can pay for myself. Do I honestly have to keep reminding you?"

"All you're accomplishing is another discussion of rainbows~"

"For the love of Farore-"

**Review~? :D  
****AND LOOK GUYS I FINALLY FIGURED OUT HOW TO FORMAT IT! XD**


	5. Remedy

**A/N: So here's that Blue and Sheik stuff! :D  
This'll possibly be the last update until school is out. I'm not sure though because I'm almost done with the next chapter…**

***Sorry, but I'm making her a minor bitch in this fic too :3 **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing~**

**Beta'd by: xD NaruSasuNaru**

**-Chapter Five: Remedy-**

**Blue's PoV**

**I don't need a friend,  
****I need to mend so far away  
****So come sit by the fire and play a while,  
****but you can't stay too long  
****It aches in every bone,  
****I'll die alone, but not for pleasure  
****I see my heart explode,  
****It's been eroded by the weather here  
****-Remedy; Seether**

"Will all of you shut the fuck up?!" I roared over the clamor. The room fell dead silent at my yell. "Shit, for only 13, 14 of you assholes and ya'll are the loudest sons 'a bitches I ever heard."

From the back of the small group someone called out, "That's 'cause it's a Monday, Din damn."

Everyone turned to glare at whoever had spoken up and I cleared my throat, rubbing my temples. I was in my lab, ready to deliver the 'congratulations' speech that I was forced to give. "So, we did our damned jobs and solved a case. Good for us." It was policy for the lab director to give a short speech after their lab analyzed data that convicted a criminal. Course, it wasn't a scripted speech, meaning I had the freedom to swear and say whatever the hell I wanted.

"Couldn't 'a done it without ya boss!" Pipit chirped with his arm around Karane's shoulders.

I grunted. "Anyway, now we have to work on 'The Shadow Case' meaning we have a long few weeks ahead of us-" Everyone groaned, mumbling and cussing. "Ya'll signed up for this job! Stop your bitching and man up, damn!"

The door to the lab opened and I turned my neck with a silent growl. _Ten more goddamned seconds and I would have been done with this group of fucks. This better be important. _

My eyes widened in surprise when a slim blonde entered the room, looking at me emotionlessly. "Sorry if I'm interrupting anything. Carry on."

I blinked and turned back to the group. "Tim's Bar, free drinks for everyone. We'll write it down as a business expense." I waved the group of analysts and forensic scientists off as they cheered. Tim's bar was a small bright bar down the block that was often home to government workers celebrating a good day. Or in this case, celebrating the last easy day of work for a while and bracing ourselves for a few weeks of hell.

I turned back around to find the blonde leaning against the wall, eyes closed. I walked to him, feeling my jaw tighten.

"What the hell do you want?"

The shorter man opened his eyes, looking calm. "You have the same limited vocabulary as always, Blue."

I didn't say anything, just glared at him, half wishing that I could vaporize him. He frowned.

"A certain bird told me you'd be welcome to see me again. I suppose that information was incorrect."

"I have no reason to be fucking 'welcome' to see you again. I thought I made it clear that I wanted nothing to do with you. It's been years. _Why the hell are you here Vio?_"

Violet-tinted blue eyes looked at me with infuriating calmness despite my hostility. "I came to apologize."

Well that was a shock. Vio was never the one to apologize, even I knew that. Of course I did.

I thought back to the years that I spent with the bookworm and Shadow, and… Sheik, Vio's older brother. I had been closer to Shiek- damn the bastard- and Shadow and Vio had been closer. Still were. But the four of us had spent enough time together to count as close. We went to high school together, part of middle school too. And we had spent time together in college.

And then shit hit the fan and Vio and I hadn't spoken since then…. Until now, obviously.

"Apologize for what?" I asked gruffly.

"For choosing Sheik over you, even when what he did was unforgivable. Blood may be thicker than water but that doesn't mean it's worth more."

'_For choosing Sheik over me'. Hah. You've got to be fucking kidding me. _

**-Flashback- **

"_Blue?"_

"_Yea." _

"_Um… Can we talk?" _

"_If you haven't noticed, I'm listening!" _

"_I mean, can we have a serious discussion? Please?" _

_Blinking and frowning, I groped around the sofa and took hold of the TV remote, muting the basketball game on I was watching. I twisted around on the sofa to look at my fiancée in confusion. She stood behind the sofa, biting her lip. Her wavy blonde hair was wet from the rain outside and her eyes were filled with something unreadable. _

"_What is it, Zelda*?" _

_She moved around the sofa to sit beside me, and she leaned back on me. I ignored the wetness of her clothing and let her rest on my side. "Blue…" She spoke softly, gently putting one of her soft hands on mine and guiding it slowly to her stomach. "You love me, don't you?" _

_I deadpanned. Maybe this was PMS or something. "Uh… Yeah. That's kinda why I'm marrying you." I laughed. "Yes, I love you." _

_She sighed softly. "I… I love you too. I want you to know that." _

_I frowned again and tipped my head even though she couldn't see the movement. "What's goin' on?" _

"_Blue… Will you please promise not to flip out?" _

"_Yea, yea. What's happening?!" _

_She bowed her head and spoke quietly. "Blue… I'm pregnant." _

"…" _I blinked a few times in confusion before laughing. "What? You can't be! We haven't had sex, remember!" I nudged her hair with my nose. "You said abstinence until marriage and I've honored that, but you don't have to tease me and remind me of what I'm missing." _

_She sighed. "Blue, I'm not joking." She was deadly serious; I could hear it in her voice now._

_I froze. "Wait… What? But… Zelly, no one-" _

"_Nothing like that! No… Blue…" I could feel her push back into me. "I… I messed up." _

"…_What do you mean, 'messed up'?" _

My head started to spin and my lips fell down into a dark frown as she looked down sadly. "I… I did something I didn't_ mean to-" She started to explain and I cut her off. My stomach twisted and ached and I felt like retching in a bucket._

"_Who." _

"_Wha- huh?"_

_I stood up, ignoring the way she weakly pawed at me to keep me close. I could feel my eyes blaze into her and heard the growl in my lower tones as I asked, "Who is the father, Zelda?" _

"_I…" Her eyes widened, so blue and clouded. Once I thought they were innocent and calm and wise, but now I could see the sin in them, the ache and the flurry of chilly emotions. "I don't… Blue, please, I'm sorry-"_

_My voice dropped, icicles forming on my tongue because of the chill in my voice. "Don't fuck around with me. Who?!"_

_She gasped quietly, flinching away and pushing herself deeper into the sofa. "Blue… P-please, I didn't mean to-" _

"_Damn right you 'didn't mean to'. Tell me who or I swear to Din I will fucking hit somebody." _

"_I… I-it was… Sheik- Blue I'm sorry, I'm so sorry-" _

_My whole field of vision spun, threw me off balance and I stumbled backwards. Sheik. My best friend, my future best man- No, it couldn't- He wouldn't- Would he? "Get out." I whispered hoarsely. I could hear her pleading and speaking in the background, but I couldn't hear anything; it all rung in my ears. "Get out! Out! Leave!" I yelled. "Leave, bitch!" I slid the engagement ring off my finger and I threw it out, hearing her screaming meet mine. I pointed at the door. "Get the hell out!" _

"_One minute you say you love me and the next you're throwing shit at me! I said I'm sorry! Can't you see that I'm not-" _

_I threw something at her, listening to her yells and mine mix in my head. She got up to me and slapped me, yelling in my face, and I grabbed her wrist so hard it was sure to leave a bruise as I led her to my door and pushed her out of my house. "Don't bother coming back!" I slammed the door in her face, listening to her yelling through the door._

_I walked around before ramming my fist into the wall. "Fuck!" I put my bloody knuckles in my mouth, glaring at the hole in the drywall. "Stupid fucking whore!" I dropped to my knees, spewing violent swears into the air…_

**-End Flashback-**

_My fiancée and my best man. What a fucking scandal. _

The only good thing that came out of it was that I had learned exactly what kind of person Zelda was before I married her. Because I wouldn't want to be married to someone who would cheat on me, despite how happy and energetic and kind she might've been to my fucking face-

And Sheik- hah. We had gotten arrested for breaking out in a fist fight when I confronted him.

That betraying shit didn't deserve to be in my presence, years of friendship meant nothing.

"I misjudged his character… And I wronged you because of that." Vio finished.

"We both misjudged him." I grumbled.

Shadow had told me the other night about Sheik and Vio's own falling out that had happened about a year ago. Something about one of Sheik's boyfriends, some dude named Green, breaking up with him for Vio, and so Vio was blamed and Sheik had hit Vio-

Vio had just walked away and neither had spoken to the other since.

Sheik had irreversibly fucked up the relationship between Vio and him, had cut himself off completely from all of them. _Good riddance. _

"We did, didn't we." Vio chuckled softly. "Sometimes family just isn't worth being loyal to. So… I'm sorry. And I'm not saying that again." He held out his hand, offering me a silent deal to be on good terms again. I stared at his hand for a minute until he sighed. "Shake my hand Blue, we're getting weird looks."

I shook his hand with a grunt, and narrowed my eyes as he grinned mischievously.

The next thing I knew he was hugging me, chuckling. "Farore you're way too tall."

My eyes were wide and I couldn't really process that _Vio_ was willingly hugging me. I honestly didn't think that he had ever initiated a hug with me. I waited, and when he didn't let go I started to feel… uncomfortable. "Get the hell off me you fucking huggy blonde."

He laughed and hugged me harder. "Not until you hug me back."

"I'm not going to hug you, you stupid shit! Get off me!"

"I guess I'll just have to hug you for a while longer."

So he did. I shifted my weight from side to side while the detective kept his arms around my shoulders. It was, needless to say, awkward, and getting progressively more so.

That's when it finally hit me. _I may have lost a lover and a friend, but he lost a brother…_

I groaned and slowly hugged him back, and the moment I did so he let go and backed away with a frown. He brushed himself off with a sigh, looking at me flatly. "What that really so hard?"

"That never happened." I growled.

"Blue?"

I turned around with a jump, frowning in confusion at Red, who stood next to me. "Yeah?"

"Who's this?" Vio looked at Red with a calm even gaze.

I rolled my eyes. I had a hard enough time conversing with one person, how the hell was I supposed to function with twice that amount of people?! "This is Red. He's a new forensic scientist; he got transferred in about a week ago. Red, this is Vio, detective and an old friend of mine."

"Back to friends already, are we?" Vio drawled. He shook Red's hand before looking back to me. "So what's this about going to a bar?"

"You fucking alcoholic. Go get your boyfriend to take you to a bar, don't force yourself upon me."

"I'm not an alcoholic. And who exactly is my boyfriend?" Vio raised an eyebrow.

"Shadow."

"He's not my boyfriend, Blue." Damn, Vio looked like he was going to kill me.

"That's not what it sounded like to him. Ya know, he's matured a lot. You've corrupted him pretty well bookworm. Might as well give him a collar saying that you've trained him to your liking."

"And what do you mean, I've corrupted him?"

"He was speaking in proper Hylian, was dressed nicely, and spoke of you highly. That has to be your handwork, because the Shadow I remember was rapping and smoking behind dumpsters and talking mouths full of shit and referring to you as his bitch."

"…I might have cleaned him up a bit. Same personality underneath though. He's still Shadow, no matter how I influence him."

"Heh." I snorted. "Seems like he's gotten to you, too."

"Oh, really? Please, explain." If I didn't know any better, I would've started backing away. The detective's narrowed eyes were threatening and icy.

"You're a bit looser with your actions. You're not as uptight and professional, and I can see emotions and shit in your eyes. It's a good change, Vio. Chill out you stupid fuck."

He sighed, waving me off. "Fine, you're probably right. But he is not my boyfriend."

"Twenty bucks says he'll say he is."

"Thirty bucks say he'll say so just to spite me."

I laughed, looking back down at Red. "Hey, you got a ride?"

The shorter blonde looked up at me with wide eyes. "Hm? Oh, Karane offered to be the designated driver for Pipit and I, but I don't know if I should go-"

"Free drinks, Red. You should go." Vio spoke up. "From what I heard you guys got stuck with the 'Shadow Case', it might be a long time before you get a chance like this again. Besides," the detective smiled. "Moving and transferring is stressful, and drinking isn't."

I breathed out in a gust of irritation. "Bookworm, if you're so desperate to go out for a drink, then call Shadow. I'll put you guys on the same tab as us."

"Thanks. But really Red, you should go. That and someone needs to make sure Blue doesn't get in a fight, and it won't be me." The detective walked away, pulling out his phone to call Shadow.

I looked back down at Red. "He's right, as usual."

Red looked down with a grin. "Well… I guess I can go!" He laughed before looking back up at me. "So why was he hugging you?"

My eyebrows shot up in surprise at the question before I looked away. "Ehhhhh… Long story." I grumbled, feeling my cheeks heat up a bit. "Nothing important. He's just a moron."

"He seems nice!" Red chirped. Gods, his optimism was unhealthy. Besides, Vio wasn't nice, he was a book-munching suck up who was gayer than the fucking rainbow for Shadow.

_But I missed him anyway. _

"You should go with Karane and Pipit, I'll meet you there. I have to take care of a few things before I leave."

"Are you sure? I'm okay with waiting for you." He looked down shyly. "I mean, only if you want me to though."

I shrugged. "Doesn't really matter to me, I just have a few emails to send out and I have to hand some paperwork. Stay or go; your choice." It hit me that I hadn't slipped a single swear into those sentences. "Just some fucking tedious shit." _Well, so much for that. _

Red giggled again and nodded. "I'll go with you then. Just let me go tell them." He scooted away and I looked casually down at my hand, seeing the scars on my knuckles from all those years ago when I had punched a hole in my wall. He came back before I could think about it, rocking on the balls of his feet. "Alright!"

I nodded and off we went, dealing with the simpler tasks of my job. He talked about this and that and I listened- more or less.

**A/N: Lazy chapter conclusion was lazy XD **

**Anyway, a couple things: First, we are (finally) getting close to hooking them up. And second, there will be a lot of chapters (in the middle of the fic) with little to nothing to do with the plot… Just because my mind comes up with a bunch of random scenarios that I want to write :3  
**


	6. All Around Me

**A/N: So I actually wrote a chapter between the last one and this one that had like a loooooot of Shadow x Vio and actually probably would have hooked them up but then I realized it would ruin the plot so… yeah no. **

**But that is not any attempt at excusing the fact that I have been devoid of this story for months, though I had said I would update when school ended. Alas, I lacked the motivation, and now I am reading John Green (who is, undoubtedly, a God amongst men for all his sheer skill and manipulation of this butchered English language) and that is why I probably sound like a totally different person at this precise moment. Which maybe I am? Nah I'm still the same shit-ass who can't write unless I have something else to be doing at the moment. Which I do. Go figure.**

**This chapter has been scrapped many times and finally I have settled for this, a much shorter version than I intended, as it has no lasting plot consequence. Thank you for your patience with my updating, the ever-decreasing plotline, blah blah blah, blah blah blah blah blah. **

**Warnings: There's kind of a sex scene but there's kind of not because well I cannot handle Blue's POV right now so I more or less did some cheap scam to make it more of a scene that would actually belong in an M rated fic. Also, I put in a really stupid line about Red's ass being rounder than the moon, which I was forced to leave in by my beta.**

***Does grease help hangovers? I have no idea; I've heard both yes and no. My personal hangover experience was unworthy of being a source; so like many fan-fiction writers, I am more or less making this up and have no idea if this is how a true whole hangover is.**

**Beta: xD NaruSasuNaru**

**Chapter Six – All Around Me**

**My hands are searching for you  
****My arms are outstretched towards you  
****I feel you on my fingertips  
****My tongue dances behind my lips  
****For you  
****This fire runs on through my being  
****Burning I'm not used to seeing you  
****I'm alive  
****I'm alive**

**-Flyleaf**

**Blue's Point of View**

Somehow, I found myself on my ass, holding a heavily intoxicated angel in my arms. Moonlight glinted and made wings, halos, made a twinkle of warmth that was spurring us onwards. Soft creamy thighs brushed and rested against my own as the short strawberry-blonde sat on me; warm and gentle arms lazily slung themselves around my neck. Fingers skimmed greedily over the last of too-tight fabric, tugging against silken locks of blonde hair. I could feel him push me down onto the navy sheets, the fabric rushing up to meet my back.

His breath came erratically as I carefully flipped us around, holding myself above him as his hands once more found their way to my body, his lips clumsily catching mine again. My teeth rubbed against his swollen lower lip, getting the taste of burning alcohol from his mouth, matched with the taste of innocence; decadent and sweet with the burn of the toxin on his lips, his moan erotic against my mouth.

I wanted more, fucking _more_; my fingers pushing themselves past an elastic band and underneath the last layer of bright red. Two small hands braced themselves on my broader chest but didn't push, accepting me, asking me, _craving. _And I craved back, tugging off his briefs, throwing it away like it was my goddamn restraint which I had shed _much earlier thank the Gods. _I felt the velvet of foreskin against my fingertips, his body tightening when I gripped his manhood gently and stroked it to the beat of my furious pulse. He mewled, nails digging into my shoulders, cries leaving his lips and being sucked back in as soon as they came out.

I sat back and slid off my own boxers as he pushed a finger into himself, gasping loudly at impaling himself with another; fingers that squelched with lube disappearing into an ass rounder than the moon.

Then I knew only tight warm heat forcing itself down upon me, unlike anything else, something I can't ever share. It was, simply, a damn good sensation that no words can nor will ever describe.

It was a sensation of heavenly soft red flickering behind my eyelids as pleasure descended.

**Page Break**

The only thing that penetrates my thick wall of sleep is pain.

I get a lot of that from hangovers though, lucky ol' me.

Swearing and mumbling, words too slurred for a listener to comprehend, I groped the bedside table _which was just a bit too fucking far out of reach _and grabbed a bottle of little saviors; meaning pain killers; which I recklessly swallowed in a desperate need to ease my suffering, drowning them in water to ease their passage, and what the fuck. Someone. Is. Fucking. Cooking. Bacon.

Did I even _have _any goddamn bacon?

I lifted my head and let it fall back down, face first into the pillow. The lights flicked on and off behind my eyelids as the sun streamed through the window. _Why do things never go my fucking way..? Is it impossible for once, just once, that it isn't fucking raining sunshine when I have a fucking hangover?!_

Impossible? Yeah, probably.

I finally rolled over and hid my eyes under my hands, my body roaring in protest. The painkillers slipped in, going from a swollen angry migraine to an over-sensitive headache. My fingers felt a bit shaky. The light was too bright, the noises too loud, the smells too strong. I felt for a moment as if I was going to vomit. I don't fucking do hangovers, I don't fucking do one-night stands, I don't fucking do bacon because I don't fucking do anything, period. I sit around and swear and gripe and break shit which isn't nearly as fun as it sounds.

In that moment I was ready to swear off alcohol forever.

But somehow, by some divine force, I got off my ass and adjusted to my enflamed senses, brushed my teeth and removed the rotten bitter taste of a sore morning. I slid on a new pair of boxers, scowling at the mess on the ground made of discarded clothing as I pulled on a rich blue robe.

Needless to say my clothes found themselves in the empty laundry pile and the others folded at the foot of my bed.

It's not a goddamn compulsive disorder, shit; I just like keeping things orderly.

When I stepped into the kitchen, I knocked on the wall to announce my entrance.

_Oh, shit. _

Blue eyes framed by soft blonde hair turned to me, surprised, twisting into some sort of beaming adoration. "Oh, good morning Blue!"

_Please tell me this is a dream let this be fantasy oh mama oh mama; shit I don't even remember the goddamn lyrics to Bohemian Rhapsody fucking hell what do I do what do I do how do I breathe what is the meaning of life what in the name of the Gods is the Quantum Theory and why do missing socks exist._

_Breathe. _

I took a deep breath in.

_Out. _

The air escaped with a bit of a snort.

_Better? _

Yes.

_Good, now explain why your newest forensic officer is in your house in the morning wearing nothing but a pair of bright red briefs your t-shirt and cooking bacon in your kitchen? _

HOW WOULD I FUCKING KNOW?!

"Morning," I narrowed my eyes a bit, the usual slip of a growl in my voice. He blushed a bit under my scrutiny- or my undress- and turned back to the sizzling slices of meat on the stove.

"Um, I hope you don't mind, but I thought you might want some breakfast?" I could hear the damn caution in his voice underneath the overly-bright smile. "I didn't want to wake you up to ask…"

"It's fine," I grumbled. I tried to stutter out a 'thank you' but it didn't pass my dry lips. "How's your head?" I asked, speaking softer than normal because Gods know I didn't want to piss my hangover off any more than I already had; getting a glass of water because like hell I needed it.

"It's fine, I took a few painkillers." He smiled at me over his shoulder. "*Plus, grease does amazing things for hangovers…" He gestured to the bacon, which he slid onto a plate, which had scrambled eggs and toast, which had literally come out of the fifth fucking dimension, i.e. nowhere. He slid the plate onto the kitchen bar, looking proud. I couldn't remember the last time I had had a breakfast of… well, proper breakfast. A second symmetrical plate slid out of the 17th section of quadrant B of the quantum directory, once again meaning fucking nowhere, and he sat down on a barstool in front of said plate.

"You can cook," I deadpanned.

He chuckled. "It's a hobby I picked up from my mom, back in junior high."

"You learned to cook from your mom." I shook my head. I didn't take a bite, just stared at it from where I stood in the kitchen, absolutely dazed. "What the hell happened last night?"

"You don't… remember?" He sounded disappointed, turning his head so I couldn't see his face. "Oh…"

"I don't remember a lot of what happened before you were naked on top of me and I don't fucking understand how the hell that happened." I was so fucking smooth. I should have gone into getting an English major I was so damn good with my words.

This is why I was irrevocably and permanently single.

"So you remember that much?" Oh please don't tell me that was some godforsaken hope in his voice. "Um… I just remember drinking… too much... and I kind of… kissed you?" Only he could make that sound like an innocent question. "And um, Vio I think, drove us here because, well, were kind of… unable to drive… and the rest is… self-explanatory?"

And that, dear loved ones, is how I had the best damn sex of my life with a blonde twenty-sex year old male whom learned to cook from his mother. By getting shit-wrecking drunk and having a sort-of-decent-friend who understood my drunken inhibitions.

I wasn't sure if I should damn my luck or kiss it.

"Yeah," I nodded, fading out to silence. I walked around the bar and sat down beside him, eating alongside him, complimenting him as well as swearing and a flurry of sexual tension can allow, which apparently wasn't a goddamn lot. I pointed him to the bathroom so he could take a shower, pulling out my phone.

He answered on the fourth ring, a burst of static before a calm voice. "Hello?"

"Fuck you," it was as good as a conversation starter from me got.

"I'll have to deny that request, as I do believe you have a strikingly attractive blonde already in your house," Vio drawled. His voice sounded either really clear or really static-deranged, depending on his actions. "But I thank you for your consideration of considering me as a mate, though the mere words on my tongue make my skin crawl."

"Let me go bathe my goddamn ears in hand sanitizer, you fuck. What the hell was dumping Red at my house about?"

"Two drunken idiots separated may cause a good deal of harm to themselves. Together they are less likely to cause destruction as they are ensnared in the flesh of the other as they solve their sexual tension." He paused. "Please tell me you solved your sexual tension with that poor boy."

"No it's still pretty damn tense and pretty damn sexual and pretty damn sexually tense," I admitted.

"Damn. Well, one cannot blame me for trying."

"Both his car and mine are at work. Give us a lift; it's your damn fault we're stuck here in the first place."

"Call a taxi, I'm busy," he said, the sound of a keyboard clacking in the background. "As much as I try in the little time I have to spare to salvage your possible relationships before you can shred them, I do have a life to live."

"A life called Being Dull?" I snapped.

"A life called My Name is Shadow Pay Attention to Me My Head Hurts Give Me Pity and Love and Porn," he said as he sighed. "…Don't tell him I said that."

"You have to please him at night and tend to him during the day? Damn, take off the fucking skirt and put on a pair of pants," I mocked. "Let me guess, you're in the kitchen right now, making him a hangover cure, like the good little bitch you are?"

"I'm still at my apartment, actually, though I thank you for having such a view of me. I left him on his own last night. I don't… don't particularly revel in the glory of Shadow's intoxicated, blabbering, logic-less state of mind. It's… compromising. And I do believe that the one thing you and I truly have in common is a firm grip on the want to maintain our dignities."

"You don't like his drunk sex?"

"He and I are _not-" _He cut himself off for a moment, then asked softly, "Did he say something to you about me, the other night? Did he say we were together or hint at it? Or are you just presuming that he and I am an item, as everyone else does?"

"He said a lot of things about you. I kind of tuned him out, watched his pale jaw flap up and down, Vio this, Vio that. You're both so obviously head-over-balls for each other it fucking hurts. You guys have been a fucking on-off sexually frustrated couple since you were like 12 and yes I know you slept with him in high school and all but you two need to fuck-"

"What?"

"That party shit where you got shit-faced drunk and slept with him?"

"…He told you about that?"

"Oh for the love of shit please tell me the 'Shadow & Vio' train has left the '16 & drunk remorse' station already."

"…I need to finish what I was doing and then go see Shadow. Call me later when you're both ready if you still need a ride."

"You suck balls!" I hollered into the device and hung up. Someone needed to get them drunk and lock them in a room together like he had done to me last night and shit I needed to take a shower. And do the dishes. And clean_. It's_ _not fucking OCD_.

**Vio's Point of View**

I find him as one should find all awaiting dream-wished lovers: expecting me, curled up in a ball of his own discomfort; the front door to his condo widely ajar as he sits on the ground against the door-frame.

There's some mortally spectacular in knowing he's been waiting for me to come like I always do, that he relies on my presence that much. But I'm also quite irked at him, for a lot of reasons, the list of which grows faster than I care to make a metaphor to. But I love metaphors and similes so I compare it to the speed of which lightning strikes down, causing the earth under our feet to break all in the night of a deadly storm.

What can I say? I'm a sucker for literary elements and similes are my favorite, as is the perk of being me. The other unmentioned perk is being 'head-over-balls'- as Blue so kindly rephrases the term- for my best friend, who is as far from being 'head-over-balls' for me as one can get. "Good morning, Shadow," I say as I stop in front of him, looking down with an emotionless expression.

He looks up with a groan but still manages to give me that breath-thieving crooked smile. "Mornin', sweetheart," he closes his eyes and just stays sitting like that. "Care to help a poor son of a bitch who actually suffers from hangovers?"

Not really, I think to myself, but I'd rather talk to you when you can focus on my words rather than your hangover so here I am. "I always do." I extend my hand to him and help him up, muffling a groan into his shoulder when he pulls me in for a sloppy tight hug. "Shadow, this hurts…" His hands roam over my back, keeping me there, searching me like a blind man, as if I was some preposterous apparition that needed verification of existence.

"You smell clean and I love you so let me hug you."

_I love you, _there are those words again, and here's me, sinking further into the void of helplessly crushing on someone I can't have, aching to swim for the surface. "You can show your love by letting me go," I say a bit breathlessly, and he gives me another smile, and for the first time I am so winded that I feel like a cancer patient whose lungs are filled with water, unable to catch the air no matter how much I need it.

I've never been so desperate for his romance in my life; but I'd be lying if I said I didn't know why.

_I know you slept with him in high school._ In Shadow's case, a more accurate phrase would be 'in the diagram of all whom Shadow slept with in high school, you and 99.9% of the student body are in the Shadow-slept-with-you section; congratulations'. But it doesn't change the fact that yes I had slept with him and yes even though it was 11 years ago I still feel that strong surge of powerlessness and craving that he had invoked whenever that fate-less night is mentioned.

I can imagine him saying 'I never want to let you go' and hugging me closer and kissing me on the forehead even though we're the same height but no, instead he lets go of me and closes his eyes again. "Yeah, sorry, I just miss you when you ditch me."

Is that the only time you miss me? Do you often miss me? Am I alone in needing this strange bond? Gods, I'm so pathetic, everything he says or does is followed by some dramatic wonder of whether we were star-crossed lovers, as if Shakespeare would claw himself out of his grave to write our tragic and death-riddled story of misunderstood love and power/blood-lust. "You always miss me," I tease, and he mumbles some agreement. I grab him and pull him further into his complex, shutting the door and allowing some sense of privacy to land us. I slide into the kitchen, putting bread in the toaster and boiling water.

"You know, I read something that said sex is a cure for hangovers." His voice is a bit less colorful than usual but he still wriggles his eyebrows when I frown at him over my shoulder. "Wanna help~?"

"Are you still drunk?" I ask flatly.

"Oh, Gods no, I am so far from drunk; at least that's what my pounding head indicates. I still see stars but not good ones." He falls onto the sofa. "But just because my head is pounding that doesn't mean we can't be." I can hear the shameless wink in his voice. "C'mon. I want to."

"This is precisely why I don't stay around you when you're drunk. I don't need it from you sober." That was true, I hate Shadow when he's drunk, or more accurately I hate how he makes me feel: wanted, achingly and amazingly wanted and needed and lavished. Intoxication does things to people, and it makes Shadow absolutely and terrifyingly horny. He'd grope me, crack bad pick-up lines, and still on too many occasions I'd give in and let him kiss me. I didn't doubt that Shadow was a bit sexually attracted to me, I was to him as well, but I knew there was no romantic attraction in his side, and I had no interest in being mere friends-with-benefits with my practically-brother.

"Why? Because you're afraid I'll make you scream~?" He chuckled dryly and stopped short. "Yeah, yeah, I'll stop. Sorry."

I didn't ask. I just popped the toast and stirred together a cup of coffee blacker than Death's hood and brought that over for him, leaving to go find the right hangover-designated pills to lessen his suffering.

Finally, he had gotten over the first and most painful stage of his hangover, leaving him to watch television on the sofa as I sat in the armchair reading. His hair was matted in the back, not brushed, and he was wearing only a pair of old grey sweatpants, leaving his pale, creamy white, lean torso bare. Muscles were gently itched into his skin, but weren't prominent; he wasn't built for strength but instead for stealth. "See something you like~?"

I looked away, not realizing I'd been staring. "I spaced out, my apologies."

"Convenient thing to look at while spacing out," He chuckled. "You can stare if you like, I wasn't complaining."

"I wasn't staring," I sighed. He gave me a look of 'yeah, sure'. "There's a difference between staring and defocusing ones thoughts and thus coincidentally-" I started to defend my meager case and he cut me off with,

"Save it, sweetheart. I'm not buyin' it."

I sighed again, going book to reading attentively. Dates went from ink-and-paper to mind-and-blood in my head as the historical events of the Lost Woods Rebellion categorized themselves fluidly in my mind. Something tingled and I brushed my hand against my face, dispelling the sensation until it returned. Finally I looked up, noticing Shadow's intent gaze on me. "See something you like?" I called back.

He smirked. "Damn right I do." I was unprepared for that answer but he pushed on. "How's your boyfriend?"

That was really not the answer I was expecting, but I'll confess that was a much more effective manner than explaining the difference between blatant staring and zoning out. "He's um, he's good." I hadn't talked to him in days, pointedly missing his phone calls and texts. For all I knew he could be dead.

"You sound confident with that answer," He replied sarcastically. "But sure. He's good. That's good. Good for you." He looked away and flipped through the TV channels. "Sorry, I just don't like him, personally."

I didn't ask why, instead finding myself a bit annoyed. Shadow didn't like Green? That was fine, but Shadow didn't like anyone I had ever held a relationship with, always disapproving like an over-protective father who wanted only living breathing perfection for his child. "It's _my_-"

"It's your relationship, yeah. I know. Sorry, I just, I want ya to be happy, ya know? You don't seem happy with him, not as happy as you could be; I mean, I've seen you happy, you're much happier by me- not that I'm suggesting anything, um, just that there's room for improvement with how he makes you feel- I'm just gonna stop talking now."

I chuckled softly but didn't say anything, the dull roar of the TV being the only thing to ward off the vaguely uncomfortable silence. Finally, I breached the subject I really wanted to approach. "So I spoke with Blue this morning-"

"I see you two are already conspiring against me. Love, I thought you were loyal to moi?"

"-I didn't think you would tell him about…" How does one phrase something like this delicately and without sounding like a pompous teenager? "Our…" Coupling? Mating? Our 'sexual rendezvous via some crazy party?' No… Well, maybe, that actually sounded pretty good… too poetic. _Overthinking is a highly dangerous pastime that you would do well to drop when trying to speak of a sensitive and slightly secretive subject. _"I didn't think that you would tell Blue of all people about our intimate encounter years back."

_Should've gone with 'sexual rendezvous' though, that sounded interesting._

"…I didn't think he would tell you," Shadow spoke softly, his voice dropping a few octaves and his body giving away his uncertainty. I would otherwise label it as discomfort but he kept his eyes on me, searching.

"To be fair, he is suffering from the same medieval plague called a hangover that you are. He was even comprehensible this time." I would give Blue that praise, as many times he drank to the point that he should have gone to the hospital, with following hangovers that if we could somehow bottle we could use as nukes in wars.

"Cheers for him!" Came the sarcasm, spouting from lips turned bitter. "Yeah, I told him, because I had to tell _somebody_. That's not something I can just _forget_ and unlike you I can't _act _like I was so drunk that I didn't remember. Do you have any idea how much that fucking hurts? You acting like it didn't even happen?" Defensiveness was Shadow's go-to protection, already activated.

"I didn't act like it never happened, I merely avoided the topic. You didn't bring it up so I didn't either."

"Oh for the love of the Gods- don't play thick with me!" He got onto his feet, looking at me as if heartbroken. "I tried to bring it up! Many times! Like you didn't take the hint?" He balled one of his hands into a fist. "No, you're right; maybe I should have looked you straight in the face and asked you if you liked my cock up your ass, huh? Or would that still have been me 'not bringing it up'?"

I stood up as well, not liking the feeling of being cornered. "That's not what I meant."

"No, you're using me as your own excuse! What the hell do you want from me, Vio? Because if you thought bringing it up now was smart, it's not! I haven't calmed down from it; I'm caught in this goddamn web where I don't know what to do and the image of literally fucking my best friend is engraved in my eyes and so I kinda relapsed and Blue was there and I told him!"

I took a few steps forward, grabbing his shoulders and pulling him flesh up against me. "Breathe, Shadow, just breathe for a moment." He did, sagging and putting his hands on my arms.

He rested his forehead against mine, his eyes opening again to meet my own. "You, in general, confuse the hell out of me," He admitted. "I don't know what you want me to be."

"I want you to be who you want to be." _I want you to be mine, but well... one hurdle at a time I suppose. _"…Eleven years and you still have a solid image of me from that night?" He nods but the certain flex in his fingers makes me think that he has more than just an image memorized. I don't think about what he does with those memories, I don't want to, I want to forget that night and go back to being absolutely-100%-just-friends with Shadow before I let some drunken lust take over. Because I've been stuck with the same feeling since and it's been gnawing away and every time he touches me I remember the way his fingers skimmed over different parts of me, the way his lips touched every inch of my skin.

Getting drunk and sleeping with your best friend is not recommended.

When I leave to pick up Blue and his male mistress, Shadow asks if I'll come back after work, and I say I will. The day passes, I get more and more anxious, constantly thinking about how Shadow _remembered_ sleeping with me, how he had remembered for eleven whole years, that's over 4,000 days, meaning 4,000 nights of remembering how awkward it had been. Sloppy and rushed and obviously an experiment, something that had no right to feel as good as it had.

And I kept thinking about one question. _'Not who you want me to be, but who you want me to be for you?'_

I didn't go over to see him that night.

I stop by his office the next day with an apology and an excuse, but it's too late, and in the next week two more corpses pop up with deeper cuts than usual and a coroner's report saying they had been killed the same night. I don't know either of them, but it's Shadow's voice in my head that reminds these deaths are for me. This blood is on my hands, the type of blood that never really washes off, even though I had prayed that murder was no longer on my soul. Something much bigger than I thought was at stake with my relationship with Shadow, which I suppose, was only another perk of having a serial killer as a love-interest. Only another perk of being me.

And despite it all, I still just want to kiss him deeply and never let go.


End file.
